WTT Championship" scored 4 points in a row in the deciding game! Lin Yunru made a thrilling comeback against Jokic in the round of 16 duel with Zhou Qihao

The "Silent Assassin" Lin Yunru, ranked 6th in the world, overcame a 1:2 deficit in the first round of the men's singles at the 2026 WTT Frankfurt Championship early this morning. He scored 4 points in a row after falling behind 7:8 in the decisive game. In the end, he reversed the Slovenian star Jokic 3:2 and entered the top 16 without any danger. In the next round, he will meet his former Shandong Weiqiao team doubles partner Zhou Qihao.

Lin Yunru, who won the championship in Frankfurt in 2023, has only lost one of the four matches against Jokic, who is ranked 13th in the world, in international competitions. He has had the last laugh in the last three matches, including the men's singles round of 16 at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which he also won in straight four. But this time the opponent was clearly prepared. In the first game, Lin Yunru was behind at 2:6 at the beginning and once caught up to 5:6. However, he made too many unnecessary mistakes and gave up at 6:11. In the second game, Kobayashi fell behind at 1:3 at the beginning. He used a strong offensive in the first three boards to launch an 8:1 counterattack and widened the point difference at 9:4. Then Jokic chased for 4 points in a row. After the timeout, Kobayashi stabilized his position and regained the victory at 11:9.

In the third game, the situation was ups and downs. Lin Yunru took the initiative to attack after falling behind at 5:7, and took the lead at 10:8. Unexpectedly, he fell behind at 10:11 after being resolved two game points in a row. Although Xiaolin struggled to save two game points, he was eventually succeeded by his opponent's continuous attacks and lost at 12:14.

Lin Yunru, who was fighting against the odds, took advantage of his opponent's unnecessary mistakes in the fourth game and quickly tied the game at 11:3 after a 7:1 start. The deciding game became a tug-of-war. Lin Yunru scored 4 points in a row to overtake 7:4 when trailing 3:4. Jokic then relied on continuous backhand serve to score 4 points in a row, leading 8:7. At the critical moment, Xiaolin relied on sharp serve attack and signature backhand twist to win 4 points in a row. He came from behind at 11:8 to write a 4-game winning streak.

Zhou Qihao, ranked 12th in the world, defeated French rookie Poiret with 11:5, 11:5, 12:10 in the first round and advanced to the top 16. Lin Yunru defeated Zhou Qihao 3:1 twice in the 2023 Goa Star Challenge and this year's Chongqing Championship, giving him a head-to-head advantage.

In women's singles, Zheng Yijing, ranked 34th in the world, was reversed by Bruna Takahashi, the Brazilian No. 1 sister, in the first round at 11:7, 10:12, 9:11, 7:11 and missed the chance to advance to the top 16.