China's twice defending champion Zhang Jike made short work of teammate Liang Jingkun 11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 in the men's singles third round at the World Table Tennis Championships on Thursday.

Zhang was too good for Liang in the first all-Chinese match in the men's singles at these championships.

Liang was certainly not embarrassed by the crowd favorite Zhang, but it was clear that the 2012 Olympic champion and two-time defending champion was just a cut above his compatriot, particularly when the players were trading blows from deep behind the table.

Veteran world No. 9 Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus beat Joao Geraldo of Poland and will meet Zhang next in the round of 16.

Earlier in the day, Zhang and partner Xu Xin have escaped a thrilling match against Masataka Morizono and Yuya Oshima of Japan to progress to the men's doubles semifinals.