FULL MATCH | Wang Chuqin vs Simon Gauzy | MS R64 | #SaudiSmash 2024

So this will be a best of five battle. Wang Chuqin to start it off. Love all. Top of the net here. Wang Chuqin takes the first point. Simone Gauzy quickly getting behind the table. He's quite comfortable there. See how that tactic works out for him. He'll be looking to attack where he can. Nice touch here. Chiseling push, a bit of a chop block like motion from the side and underspin in the touch play. Gauzy with the serves on his side now. Longer push, top edge of the racket. Gauzy shaking his head as if he didn't like his decisions there. Right into the body. Perfect placement on this one. Wang Chuqin. You will see players looking for the elbow of the opponent. Shallow spin, then deep to the corner. The opening spin in the drive. Now one thing I can tell you, I've been calling Wang Chuqin the future world number one for a long time. He's now very much in the present at world number one. It's his trajectory of his strokes. His fearlessness that makes him so dangerous. Looks down at the racket here. There will be little to no humidity. Xiao Zhan watches on. Xiao Zhan with the stylish scrub on the bottom of the head there. Just in case a racket needs any cleaning, a hand can't take care of. Right down the line, sneaking it past. Three-point lead here for the world number one and top seed in this event. Full commitment on that forehand. Left to fight. Now I mentioned that Simon Gauzy is very strong behind the table. The disadvantages of being behind the table is one, the lack of surprise. Two, more ground to cover. It's a lot of footwork to go either way. Beautiful inside-out forehand as Wang Chuqin turns the corner. Seven serving two. Looking for a bit of inside-out on this going down the line. Simon Gauzy will have to take his chances. Long way to go here, two-nine. Oh, this one, unstoppable. The speed on this shot, not to mention the spin. It was almost like you were watching that in fast-forward. The fluidity, this is just unstoppable. Eight game points now for the world number one. Gauzy inside the table, looking to get aggressive where he can. New ball into play. Low to the net. It's going to be what he tries to do whenever he can get it aggressively. But a bit of change of pace on this one and Wang Chuqin up for the task, a dominant first game. Simon Gauzy to start off game two with the serves. Good cover of the middle, pulls the right leg back, steps around to create a little bit of space. Balance when you're behind the table to play the ball out in front, extending. One cover of the middle, leans back just a little bit, tries to keep the wrist on for this heavy spin on the backhand. You can hear the difference between when the ball is contacted cleanly or when it hits the edge of the racket. Speaking of clean, looking fresh out here, Simon Gauzy ready for the action. Perfect combination, Wang Chuqin. It feels like he's moving in slow motion, only in the sense that he just makes his decision so quickly. As soon as Simon comes in over the forehand side of the table, it's back. And a big point to break the momentum after 13 of 16 points had been won by Wang Chuqin. Simon Gauzy here, down two to three. Longer serve, a bit of deception, very casual in the service delivery. Simon Gauzy. Serve appearing to be empty there. Coming in straight behind the ball with less brush, as Wang Chuqin looking down at his racket. Slap, three, oh. Bit of pressure inside and now in front, for the first time, Simon Gauzy. Leading four to three. And there is no messing around here. Wang Chuqin, as soon as he has the time, puts the power on the stroke. Nice touch shot, Simon. A little bit of strawberry spin there, that side, a little bit of top. Beautiful counterpunch, Simon Gauzy out in front, this time around making the contact he wants. If he can get the pressure, get through this game successfully, it definitely adds the pressure for Wang Chuqin on the other side. Now Wang Chuqin, for me, is a shoo-in. He is the player that you are likely to see, I would guess, in the men's singles for China. He's been incredibly strong in recent history. He's shown nerves of steel. He's been beaten by non-Chinese players less than any of his teammates in recent history. Still trailing after winning this point, stepping around. The creativity here, some side spin under the table, Simon Gauzy. Wang Chuqin taking advantage of the height. Break off the net there, tomahawk chop. Simon with a beautiful snake, but not a lot of bite on the ball. I mean, it's just so good. The backhand attempted, but in front now, Wang Chuqin, I could go on and on about the snake, but what Simon Gauzy did, he quickly followed with a bit of deception. Big point right out of the timeout. Simon levels the playing field once again. And it's a nice arc, but not just that, the placement right into the elbow. Extra bit of spin. This is one thing that Simon Gauzy has really excelled in, the spin game. Does he have the power? Yes. Does he have the consistency and the power that Wang Chuqin has? No, but he has the creativity to mix it up, to keep it a guessing game. You're playing against world number one, few will be able to play that game against it. Just with the time, again, sidespin. Simon Gauzy, when he slowed it down, it's been quite effective against some players. Tomahawk chop block, not a bad ball. But then the drive from Wang Chuqin, confident. Looking for that baseline in the arcing shot, but not enough table there. It's Wang Chuqin who takes the point on receiving.