Shunsuke Togami vs Truls Moregard | MS R16 | #WTTMacao 2026

Now Paul, what's going to catch your eye early on in this one? Tagami faster, more dangerous overall with the backhand. More crafty and elusive in the serve game. More form orientated generally in the clutch, finding the wiggle room. And no matter how well Tagami is playing, Charles may have the psychological edge. Again, it's a grind of a tour sometimes. And maybe that's just where he is right now. I think that's exactly it, John. You hit the nail on the head there. Charles is like a poinsettia. You can hold him underwater, but when he comes back up... And what was interesting is winning and pushing well, keeping Tagami out. There you go again. Chooses is very adaptable. I wonder if Tagami is as adaptable. Absolutely not. Europe-Asia kind of clash. Oh, there it is. He's welcomed a chance to tee off with one of them. Venomous off the backhand is Dave from Tagami. And you're going to see Charles trying to stall him, freeze him, surprise him in the flashbang forehand. For Morgard. Oh, and he groaned and grunted and worked hard to lift that onto the table. And he got his reward for it. And it's a stuttering start from Tagami. Forehand-orientated grip. Oh, he's got him again with it, Tagami. Absolutely, you can only really do it off a floaty or topspin serve. You've got to time it to perfection. There he goes again. That's good of Charles there, because he's actually just done Tagami a favour. Concede the point on purpose and let Tagami have it. No. With the deep knee bends, he doesn't look 100% physically comfortable Tagami right now. Really? He just keeps kicking out the legs. I don't know if it was the volume of playing so many matches last week. Could have been, right? Back-to-back events, yeah. Very straining. You just keep an eye on him. He's just maybe trying to get himself fired up. Maybe he doesn't feel that he's quite loose enough. The question is, will Charles be able to compete in the Open Rallies with Tagami? I think, to be honest, it should be. How dangerous the Japanese speedster is. And you can see he wants to keep him short. Normally he smothers the table with the forehand off the half-long, the attack. He's flowing. Six of the last eight for the Swede. Make that seven of them think about what you need to do. Because he changes things all the time. You barely ever see two balls the same in the rally. Well, he went into that service at 68. Two in a row. We haven't seen that too often. Tempted him in. Oh, what a time to find your game. You're right. It feels like an absolutely pivotal game in this match. The recovery of the Swede earns him the game. And now he is sitting very, very pretty. Don't judge a book by its cover too much. Because that was a tight game right there. Togami is capable of coming in with Japan's men. But his personal coach is Jin Ueda. He's not here. Oh, that's classic drills. Oh, what a shot. He lets the wrist lag and opens the shoulders. And then fades it. He played some wonderful ones. Oh, on the table. It isn't enough to get a yellow card, but it's enough to make you realise he's not happy. Because you knew how hungry he was to go deep here. After the way he's played in there. Beating Ugo. Getting his revenge from the World Cup here in Brazil. He's destroying. Making it tough for Moragard to flick or to play that flat backhand receive. So instead he just carves one. Even the rest of the world's best sometimes. So awkward to play him. That's the best of drills, Moragard, there. The improvisation followed by the execution. He's hungry to win this. Drop the mic, Moragard. And that's great news for all of us. Because it means he's playing at his best. Which is a thing of beauty. Because there's no one quite like him. And Tagami may be a little bit too fixated. Not this time. Remember, it's Darko Jogic waiting in the quarterfinals. But he can't back off the timeout. It doesn't work. You ripped the flick, Shunsuke. Oh, genius. Again he's frustrated. A roar from Tagami. Who clings on to life here in the Champions Macau. That's crazy. And now he might be able to extend this match. He's done it. He's weathered the storm. He's saved the match points. And he's picked up a game now to take us to another. He's smudged. Let's see what he can do. Oh, nice. I want to see him being mean. I want to see him being relentless. So then we get to see another side to Trulls. Oh, another one. Another Trulls special. Oh, oh, oh. Put a speak. Body before he makes contact with the ball. Lures you into a false sense of security. Oh, good get. Yeah. You were saying he would adapt. What he's also done is he's just upped the ante a little bit here. Looking sharp. In defence and attack. Oh. Six, three. I mean, you want to marvel. Oh, again. Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Seven. And he knows Tsugami will probably bite on it. Oh. It's in the conversation, that one, for the best points of the day. Oh, oh, oh, oh. How many different types of balls have he got? You know he's going to. Chewing away. How good is that serve? This game in particular. He's trying to make him flick so he goes long. It's so clever. Pattern recognition. Oh, and he's drawn him in again. For Mouragard, who has turned on the afterburners. Yeah. You want to call that a Mouragard masterclass in many ways. Because he showed the best of his attacking play, but also the best of his tactical play. Enjoy that, Fraser?