Fan Zhendong of China competes during the table tennis men’s singles final match against his compatriot Wang Chuqin at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, Oct 2, 2023. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

FRANKFURT-AM-MAIN - World No. 1 Fan Zhendong of China advanced to the last 16 of men's singles at the 2023 Table Tennis WTT Frankfurt Championships, posting a 3-1 victory over Sweden's Truls Moregard on Sunday.

The two had previously met in the 2021 World Championships final, with Fan overwhelming Moregard 4-0. Their electrifying match at Suwag Energy Arena in Frankfurt was a display of free-flowing attacking table tennis from start to finish.

Meeting for the third time, Fan, who held a superior record having won both previous encounters, ended Sunday's clash with scores of 12-10, 11-13, 12-10, 11-7.

Fan Zhendong's compatriot, Liang Jingkun, also advanced to the round of 16, defeating 20-year-old French talent Alexis Lebrun. Liang recovered from a first-game loss to beat the 2023 European Games bronze winner 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 12-10)

"It's a tough match as always. The scores were very close in every game like what we did before. He pushed me so hard, and I made some mistakes during the second game. Fortunately, I was trying to overcome the difficulties, and it worked. I made some technical adjustments and kept a good mentality," said Fan.

Fan's compatriot, Liang Jingkun, also advanced to the round of 16, defeating 20-year-old French talent Alexis Lebrun. Liang recovered from a first-game loss to beat the 2023 European Games bronze winner 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 12-10).

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Meanwhile, world No. 2 Wang Chuqin defeated Kao Cheng Jui from Chinese Taipei with a straight-set win of 11-6, 11-7, 11-5.

"Kao is a very passionate player and has made a lot of progress recently. Last time we played, I did not know about him so much and was through ups-and-downs. I'm well-prepared this time and remained calm when he made some excellent attacks. I just need to do what I normally did," said the 23-year-old Wang.

In the women's draw, Chen Meng swept past Suthasini Sawettabut of Thailand 11-4, 11-4, 11-5.

"I have not played against Suthasini for a long time. I was doing a good job today and took control of the match from the very beginning. I think I'm in pretty good shape now and will play better in the coming round," said Chen.

READ MORE: China's Fan back on top of men's table tennis world rankings

The Frankfurt event continues on Monday when the women's singles world No. 1 Sun Yingsha faces Jeon Jihee from South Korea, and Wang Manyu matches up against three-time Olympian Elizabeta Samara from Romania.