jamesd20
03-08-2008, 02:57 PM
So I missed yesterday, but went today in the hope of buying some tickets outside the stadium and managed it.....hopefully tomorrow will work the same!
Today had some good matches, but I have to say most were just so so.
CTF/LWW Vs LYD/JJS:
In the first game the KOR pair blew MAS pair away, they were far superior throughout. During the second game MAS pair were more focussed and cut through the KOR defence well. During the third game CTF/LWW were on top for almost all the game, the KOR had little idea how to win points, and most of these points came from MAS errors..KOR defending most of the time. But as always, as soon as they get the game point they think they have won the match. On one of the early matche points (2nd or 3rd) they had may oppurtunities to put the shuttle away, but somehow KOR got it back. As soon as this point finished I told my partner KOR would win. MAS felt they should have already won it and lost their focus. The errors came in and the result was never in doubt!
To put this into perspective LYD was Yelow carded (rightly so) for dissent - in which he barracked the umpires stand and went eye to eye with a linejudge - which was totally unacceptable. If I remember rightly this happend when MAS were 4 points clear on 19 points. The next point it was like nothing happened. That is the kind of focus MAS pair will never have.
ZB/GL vs XZB/ZY:
A walk over would have been better. The first game was pretty poor from ZB/GL with not much effort apparent, then the second game was a rout, with XZB in particular obviously not trying. Then just as the Umpire called for the players to return to the court for G3 they shook hands and went off....no obvious event or injury apparent.
Of note during this "match" and Thursdays play however it was apparent that GL does not attack the net as much as she used too (I think I said this last year too) and often loses some advantage as a result. See the review of INA vs ENG for a plus side of this.
Lu Lan Vs Xu:
Not very interesting, Xu making mistakes and tired from yesterday.
CJ vs LCW:
This was also dissapointing for me. I noted on thursday that LCW was looking lethargic and has reverted to deception now. In the first Game IMO He played completely the wrong tactics. He was rallying with CJ, with no speed or aggressiveness. as CJ is not super Quick (like LD for ex) he can play like this all day, he simply matched LCW up to 15-15 then injected some pace and attacking play and LCW did not respond. He simply seemed resigned to losing the first match.
In the second there was again no sign of the effective LCW, fast, powerful and attacking, he simply used deception on every shot he played, hoping CJ made a mistake and when he started to tire in the rally he himself made a mistake. He is far less potent like this than as speedy agressive player. He awoke once h was 17-14 down, and CJ was under pressure when he speeded the rallies up. CJ was playing behind himself and LW was Moving forward, but LCW seemed confused as to what he can acheive and how he should be playing.
CJ really is an unconfortable watch for me. He has good fight, covers the court well, but has no real weapons, his smash, net play, deception, drops are all so so. He also seems to have no idea as to what he is trying to acheiv, he just plays to whatever his opponent does and plays the same way. He needs to stamp his authority on his matches.
Nova/Natsir vs Robertson/Emms:
Quite an easy victory really. What really Irks me about Robertson is that he only plays for half a rally. He is fine if the shuttle is in front of him or around him he smash fairly well and attack the net, but when it is pushed to the rear court, or he is made to move side to side he cannot do anything with the shuttle. The first game was played very well by INA pair. They simply retuned the smashes which frustrates the ENG pair and then Killed the shuttle when they had chances.
The second game was very poor. Robertson was trying hard in the first half trying to put effort into the attacking play, but once the interval came the impetus had gone and they were never in it. Both side made many mistakes.
On a tactical point in XD it seems the ENG pair are the only top pair who play with the Female almost exclusively at the net, Gail very rarely defends from the side, and because of standing so close to the net, she makes some kills which look good, but the amount of oppurtunities which a missed because 50/50 shots pass her by limits their potency. Additionally Gail is very limited in the rea court, when pushed back she can really only clear back or drop. When Gao/Natsir/LHJ/KRY are at the back they can be incisive and force a mistake from their opponents, ENG simply are struggling until they are back in position.
This is taken to the extreme with ZB/GL when Gao spend quite a lot of time either at the side or at the back compared with other pairs.
LD vs BCL:
Not very good. LD is far better than BCL now. BCL is still near textbook with his footwork and placement, but makes too many errors, is limited in his defensive ability and gets nervous. There is no substitute or Mental strength and pure will to win at this level where skill levels are similar.
Tine Vs HYY:
Should have been a good game, but Tine was very impressive and dominated the court, HYY could not cope with the power of Tines' attack nor the retrieval of her shots, and HYY lacked the firepower to penetrate.
I am Sure Mag will be smiling that TR has finally acheived something. I think she will win tomorrow. Her biggest weakness is errors however. She must have given HYY 50% of her points in unforced errors hitting the shuttle out.
LHJ/LKW vs Yang/Zhang:
To my surprise the KOR pair deservedly won. Lee KW was as consistent and fit as ever, and Lee HJ maintained the consistency that she often lacks, she stayed focussed throughout the match even at critical points, and if LHJ plays the ame tomorrow then they will win the title.
LJJ/HJM vs Ikeda/Sakamoto:
This was not really exciting. the JPN pair are alright, but KOR always looked like the victors. JPN are quick in attack but lack power. Their defence is what got them to the SF, but this was a game too far.
Du/Yu vs Wei/ZHang:
Another dull affair. Du/Yu despite their size are very powerful. They play much more angles than is typical in WD, which makes it interesting to watch, but as a contest, it was not so interesting.
So My final Predictions are:
MS: LD
WS: TR
MD: LYD/JJS
WD: LHJ/LKW (even though I do like Du/Yu to watch)
XD: ZB/GL but in reality it is 50/50 either way I really want to see Gao attack the net more, against INA pair who play quite a number of net shots it has to be the way to play.
Today had some good matches, but I have to say most were just so so.
CTF/LWW Vs LYD/JJS:
In the first game the KOR pair blew MAS pair away, they were far superior throughout. During the second game MAS pair were more focussed and cut through the KOR defence well. During the third game CTF/LWW were on top for almost all the game, the KOR had little idea how to win points, and most of these points came from MAS errors..KOR defending most of the time. But as always, as soon as they get the game point they think they have won the match. On one of the early matche points (2nd or 3rd) they had may oppurtunities to put the shuttle away, but somehow KOR got it back. As soon as this point finished I told my partner KOR would win. MAS felt they should have already won it and lost their focus. The errors came in and the result was never in doubt!
To put this into perspective LYD was Yelow carded (rightly so) for dissent - in which he barracked the umpires stand and went eye to eye with a linejudge - which was totally unacceptable. If I remember rightly this happend when MAS were 4 points clear on 19 points. The next point it was like nothing happened. That is the kind of focus MAS pair will never have.
ZB/GL vs XZB/ZY:
A walk over would have been better. The first game was pretty poor from ZB/GL with not much effort apparent, then the second game was a rout, with XZB in particular obviously not trying. Then just as the Umpire called for the players to return to the court for G3 they shook hands and went off....no obvious event or injury apparent.
Of note during this "match" and Thursdays play however it was apparent that GL does not attack the net as much as she used too (I think I said this last year too) and often loses some advantage as a result. See the review of INA vs ENG for a plus side of this.
Lu Lan Vs Xu:
Not very interesting, Xu making mistakes and tired from yesterday.
CJ vs LCW:
This was also dissapointing for me. I noted on thursday that LCW was looking lethargic and has reverted to deception now. In the first Game IMO He played completely the wrong tactics. He was rallying with CJ, with no speed or aggressiveness. as CJ is not super Quick (like LD for ex) he can play like this all day, he simply matched LCW up to 15-15 then injected some pace and attacking play and LCW did not respond. He simply seemed resigned to losing the first match.
In the second there was again no sign of the effective LCW, fast, powerful and attacking, he simply used deception on every shot he played, hoping CJ made a mistake and when he started to tire in the rally he himself made a mistake. He is far less potent like this than as speedy agressive player. He awoke once h was 17-14 down, and CJ was under pressure when he speeded the rallies up. CJ was playing behind himself and LW was Moving forward, but LCW seemed confused as to what he can acheive and how he should be playing.
CJ really is an unconfortable watch for me. He has good fight, covers the court well, but has no real weapons, his smash, net play, deception, drops are all so so. He also seems to have no idea as to what he is trying to acheiv, he just plays to whatever his opponent does and plays the same way. He needs to stamp his authority on his matches.
Nova/Natsir vs Robertson/Emms:
Quite an easy victory really. What really Irks me about Robertson is that he only plays for half a rally. He is fine if the shuttle is in front of him or around him he smash fairly well and attack the net, but when it is pushed to the rear court, or he is made to move side to side he cannot do anything with the shuttle. The first game was played very well by INA pair. They simply retuned the smashes which frustrates the ENG pair and then Killed the shuttle when they had chances.
The second game was very poor. Robertson was trying hard in the first half trying to put effort into the attacking play, but once the interval came the impetus had gone and they were never in it. Both side made many mistakes.
On a tactical point in XD it seems the ENG pair are the only top pair who play with the Female almost exclusively at the net, Gail very rarely defends from the side, and because of standing so close to the net, she makes some kills which look good, but the amount of oppurtunities which a missed because 50/50 shots pass her by limits their potency. Additionally Gail is very limited in the rea court, when pushed back she can really only clear back or drop. When Gao/Natsir/LHJ/KRY are at the back they can be incisive and force a mistake from their opponents, ENG simply are struggling until they are back in position.
This is taken to the extreme with ZB/GL when Gao spend quite a lot of time either at the side or at the back compared with other pairs.
LD vs BCL:
Not very good. LD is far better than BCL now. BCL is still near textbook with his footwork and placement, but makes too many errors, is limited in his defensive ability and gets nervous. There is no substitute or Mental strength and pure will to win at this level where skill levels are similar.
Tine Vs HYY:
Should have been a good game, but Tine was very impressive and dominated the court, HYY could not cope with the power of Tines' attack nor the retrieval of her shots, and HYY lacked the firepower to penetrate.
I am Sure Mag will be smiling that TR has finally acheived something. I think she will win tomorrow. Her biggest weakness is errors however. She must have given HYY 50% of her points in unforced errors hitting the shuttle out.
LHJ/LKW vs Yang/Zhang:
To my surprise the KOR pair deservedly won. Lee KW was as consistent and fit as ever, and Lee HJ maintained the consistency that she often lacks, she stayed focussed throughout the match even at critical points, and if LHJ plays the ame tomorrow then they will win the title.
LJJ/HJM vs Ikeda/Sakamoto:
This was not really exciting. the JPN pair are alright, but KOR always looked like the victors. JPN are quick in attack but lack power. Their defence is what got them to the SF, but this was a game too far.
Du/Yu vs Wei/ZHang:
Another dull affair. Du/Yu despite their size are very powerful. They play much more angles than is typical in WD, which makes it interesting to watch, but as a contest, it was not so interesting.
So My final Predictions are:
MS: LD
WS: TR
MD: LYD/JJS
WD: LHJ/LKW (even though I do like Du/Yu to watch)
XD: ZB/GL but in reality it is 50/50 either way I really want to see Gao attack the net more, against INA pair who play quite a number of net shots it has to be the way to play.