Yuta Kikuchi raced clear of Maxim Haliak in Guangzhou, taking the opening five games on the board without reply. The Japanese held both of his service games and broke three times, facing no break point at all.
The pattern was set immediately: Kikuchi broke in the first game at 0-1, again in the third at 0-3, and once more in the fifth at 0-5. Haliak saved one of four break points he faced and never held serve, winning just four points on his own delivery across the match.
The starkest number is the points column: 22-10 to Kikuchi, including a run of nine in a row and five straight games. He also won seven of ten first-serve points and seven of ten return points off Haliak's first serve, without a single double fault.