Taiwan's Lin Yun-ju advances to WTT men's singles final in Singapore

Taipei, March 1 (CNA) Taiwan's top men's table tennis player Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒) advanced to his first Grand Smash men's singles final on Sunday after defeating Sweden's Truls Moregard in six games at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash.

Nicknamed the "silent assassin," Lin won 11-7, 14-12, 12-10, 5-11, 7-11, 11-8 in the semifinal.

The 24-year-old world No. 8 had previously faced the world No. 5, also 24, six times in WTT competitions, holding a 5-1 record, with his only loss coming in the quarterfinals at last year's Hong Kong year-end finals.

Lin entered the semifinal in excellent form having already secured the 100th win of his career in the quarterfinals of the WTT Singapore Smash.

In the opening game of the semifinal, Lin excelled in mid-to-long rallies, winning 11-7.

He controlled serve returns effectively in the second game and after a closely-contested second game reached deuce, found an extra gear to win the next two points and take the game 14-12, for a two-game-to-nil lead.

In the third game, Lin trailed 2-5 after a series of early errors but responded with five consecutive points to take the lead and, after four ties and a timeout called by Moregard, won another close game 12-10 to take a 3-0 lead in games.

With no margin for error, Moregard changed tactics in the fourth and fifth games, deliberately reducing power on his returns and alternating pace to disrupt Lin's play, successfully pulling back two games.

Lin adjusted in the sixth game, using two backhand flips on serve returns and an edge ball to build a 7-3 lead.

Although Moregard rallied to win five points in a row and briefly move ahead 8-7, Lin leveled with a strong forehand, capitalized on an error and followed with his trademark backhand flip to secure three match points at 10-7, before sealing victory 11-8.

Lin is scheduled to play in the men's singles final at 8 p.m. on Sunday against either China's Wang Chuqin (王楚欽) or France's Felix Lebrun.