Liam Pitchford launched an opening blitz against Olympic silver medallist Truls Moregard at the WTT Champions Macao, but saw his opponent hit back to win the match in four.

Pitchford went 3-0 and 8-1 up in the first, on his way to winning it 11-3, and looked to be at his inventive, shot-making best in a highly watchable match.

But Moregard, who won both singles and team silver for Sweden at the Paris Olympics, turned the tide with plenty of memorable points of his own.

Pitchford may look to a 9-7 lead in the second as a pivotal moment as Moregard come back to win the game 12-10 on his second game point.

The Swede then built a 6-1 lead in the third, taking it 11-6. In the fourth, he came from 3-2 down to lead 7-3 and although Pitchford hit back to level at 8-8, Moregard won it 11-9 on his second match point.

Result

Men’s Singles
Round of 16
Truls Moregard (SWE) bt Liam Pitchford 3-1 (3-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-9)