Aruna targets last-eight spot at WTT Champions Macao

Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna will aim to extend his impressive comeback run when he faces Germany’s Patrick Franziska in the men’s singles round of 16 at the WTT Champions Macao on Friday, Sport360NG reports.

Currently ranked 26th in the world, Aruna delivered one of his most commanding performances in recent months on Tuesday, sweeping aside China’s Huang Youzheng in straight sets in the round of 32. The 36-year-old barely put a foot wrong, cruising to an 11-3, 11-8, 11-8 victory to book a place in Friday morning’s clash at the Infinity Arena.

The African number one had endured a poor spell on the tour, losing five of his last six matches before Macao, but looked rejuvenated against Huang, excelling both on serve and return. His strong showing now sets up a tougher test against Franziska, the world No. 18.

Franziska advanced with a hard-fought win over sixth seed Xiang Peng, coming from behind to seal a 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 1-11, 12-10 victory. The German, who beat Aruna in their only previous meeting, enters the encounter buoyed by the scalp of one of the tournament favourites.

Should Aruna pull off an upset, he would secure a quarter-final spot against Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, seeded fourth, who overcame Korea’s An Jaehyun and will next face Germany’s Dang Qiu.

The $800,000 prize-money event has already seen its share of surprises. Third seed Tomokazu Harimoto crashed out to China’s Xue Fei, while top European players Simon Gauzy and Anton Kallberg, along with Africa’s No. 2 Omar Assar, also suffered early exits.

Victory on Friday would not only mark Aruna’s first triumph over Franziska but also send him into the last eight of a Champions event for the first time since 2021 in Sweden.