ITTF World Tour Grand Finals: World No.1 reaches semis

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The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Grand Finals in South Korea kicked off on Thursday. World No. 1 Zhu Yuling made short work of her fellow Chinese Liu Shiwen to advance to the women's semi-finals where she will face another compatriot, Chen Meng who defeated Wang Manyu four games to one.

Zhu blew through the first game, and when Liu hit the net, Zhu took it 11-1.

Liu did better in the second round as she made a quick switch to her forehand and hit a winner to trail 5-4. But Zhu had game point first and she got a bit of help from the net to seal it 11-6.

Liu played aggressively in the third, but Zhu still came out on top 11-9. On match point, Liu hit long and Zhu won the game 11-6 for a 4-0 sweep.

Lin Gaoyuan of China competes in the men's singles at the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Incheon, South Korea, December 14, 2018. /VCG Photo

On the men's side, Lin Gaoyuan took a 7-2 lead on his fellow Chinese Xu Xin in the quarter-finals.

23-year-old Lin claimed the first game 11-8 when world No. 2 Xu whiffed on the ball.

In the second round, they exchanged short shots before Lin blasted a backhand winner. But Xu came back and took it 11-9 when Lin swiped at air.

The third was tough, but Lin won it 13-11 when Xu went long. The fourth was also close and this time Xu won 13-11 to make it 2-2 overall. But Lin pulled out the next two games and the world No. 4 won 4-2 to book his place in the semi-finals.

Fan Zhendong (L) of China serves the ball during his match against Hugo Calderano of Brazil at the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, December 15, 2018. /VCG Photo

In another men's single match, Chinese Fan Zhendong lost 2-4 to Brazil's Hugo Calderano.