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Ma Long into men's quarters (updated)

Xinhua, May 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

The world top-ranked table tennis player Ma Long played an aggressive topspin game to beat the world's best defensive player in the world championships on Friday.

The 26-year-old Chinese, who needs a world singles title to prove his ranking, beat 17th-ranked South Korean Joo Sae-hyuk, 11-4, 11-3, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6.

Ma, 2012 World Cup winner, has been notoriously under-achieving in Olympics and world championships, overshadowed by teammate Zhang Jike, who has completed a "grand slam" of Olympics, world championships and World Cup singles titles.

Zhang, aiming for his third straight world singles crown in Suzhou, takes on Belarus veteran Vladimir Samosonov in the afternoon for a quarter-final berth.

Joo, who plays a chop-and-attack game, had trouble in responding to firepower from Ma and lost the first two sets easily.

As he put more spin to his chops and distracted his rival with counter-attacks, Joo narrowly lost the third set and won the fourth.

Using powerful forehand attacks coupled with placement shots, Ma didn't give a chance to an already jade Joo, wrapping up the game in five sets.

Ma will vie for a semifinal spot with the winner between Hong Kong player Tang Peng and South Korea's Lee Sang-su. Enditem