http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfOV9ndW7JM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juJe22rLtdk I noticed that when taking a shot in the back court, Lin Dan's feet cross the doubles service line less frequently than most players. Compared him with LCW and CL,and I found that their feet cross the doubles service line much more frequently, and sometimes their feet even land OUT of the court! I was watching the 2 videos above btw. What could it be due to? PS: Or is it just me!?
lol youre watching a highlights video and a exhibition match thats why. in the exhibition match bcl wasnt hitting the shuttle to the very back often it always went 3/4 length. the highlights are obviously cos LD is controlling the rally and setting up for the short lift or doing trick shots. watch a normal game where he plays lcw or someone else that is of high quality.
What's more obvious to me is Lin Dan stands more at the back when he defends, and by doing so he's able to launch an attack more quickly. Most players would not do so, because they would otherwise not be able to cover the net, but with his lightening fast and powerful legs, Lin Dan is still able to cover the whole court efficiently.
0:10 LCW's foot touched the singles service line 0:47 LCW's foot nearly touched the singles service line 1:38 LCW's foot touched the singles service line 2:26-2:35 look at their clear exchange, LCW moves further back in court than LD (LD didn't even touch the doubles service line in 2 of the clears) the last 2 clears were about equal though 2:48 Another continuous clear exchange. The first clear was one of the rare times LD went that far back in court. The 2nd clear, LD barely touched the doubles service line,wheres LCW's foot was nearly touching singles service line. LD ended the clear exchange with a nice deceptive drop, his feet not even touching the doubles service line. 3:34 LCW's foot nearly touched the singles service line 3:55 LCW's foot nearly touched the singles service line 4:05 LCW's foot OUT OF THE COURT! 4:18 LCW's foot OUT OF THE COURT! 4:28 LCW's foot touched the singles service line 4:56 LCW's foot touched the singles service line 5:35 LCW's foot nearly touched the singles service line 5:54 One of the rare occasions LD's foot was anywhere near the singles service line. 6:07 LCW's foot OUT OF THE COURT! 6:11 LCW's foot touched the singles service line. 6:16 LCW's foot touched the singles service line. 7:07 The ONLY TIME I saw LD's foot touch the singles service line. 7:08-10:00 LD's foot went past the doubles service line only 8 times compared to LCW's 17 I got lazy to continue going on I know its only a matter of 4 inches or so, but its just something I observed. Maybe its only this particular game. Another thing that occurred to me is perhaps its height difference. So I'm off to go find some Chen Long vids since he is obviously taller than both LCW and LD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVfK3ZnhL6c 0:57 LD's foot goes OUT OF THE COURT! 1:48 CL's foot goes OUT OF THE COURT! 1:54 CL's foot goes OUT OF THE COURT! 3:28 LD's foot nearly touches the singles service line. 3:32 LD's foot touches the singles service line. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbztRE1ADdw 0:28 LD's foot touches the singles service line. 1:49 LD's foot nearly touches the singles service line. 1:55 CL's foot nearly touches the singles service line. 2:00 I won't count that since it was a trickshot 2:38 CL's foot touches the singles service line. 2:41 CL's foot nearly touches the singles service line. 3:45 LD's foot nearly touches the singles service line. 4:16 CL's foot nearly touches the singles service line. 5:24 CL's foot touches the singles service line. 5:48 CL's foot touches the singles service line. 5:53 Cl's foot goes OUT OF THE COURT! 6:10 LD's foot nearly touches the singles service line. 6:14 LD's foot touches the singles service line. LD passes the doubles service line much more often in this match. What I've noticed is, when LD is anywhere near the singles service line, it is after doing a rally ending jump smash. Anyway, I don't really understand why the match between CL and LD was so different from the match between LD and LCW in 2011. Was LCW not hitting far enough to the base? Or is it just that LD consciously makes an effort to land nearer to the net after he jumps?
LD's power game is built around a few components, and one of the major ones is his fast interception. To bring this effectively into play, he must always (or as much as possible) position himself mid-court or just a half-step in front of, in readiness to intercept and put pressure on the opponent. Therefore, he would expend more serious energy if he were to "correctly" position himself behind the shuttle every time he needs to clear it or anything else from his baseline. So he does the economical thing: he brings his shoulder, arm and wrist power into play and just clears it from over his head. That is why at times, his clears look hurried and often ugly. But, they are effective enough for him, because he is actually waiting for the opponent to make the mistake of allowing his interception skills to come into play... -and then the opponent is toast. It's just a component of his waiting game that he has developed post-2008. Notice that when he has to smash from the baseline, he does make the extra effort to get fully behind the bird because he knows it will bring instant rewards. It's percentage play, all the way. He can do it because he knows his game and his strengths.
Like Cobalt said, LD plays a much more patient game now and only fully positions himself behind the shuttle to hit the big jump smash only when he has forced his opponent to give him lots of time or a short lift. The rest of the time he uses half court stick smashes and fast drops that he takes above his head to build the rally. He also positions his base more forward than most players because his explosive footwork and jump backwards allows him to make attacking shots even with his base forwards. This makes his counter attack lethal, as any loose drops or drives from his opponents are taken above net height. Playing him is so difficult for most players because their drops and netshots are ineffective because LD's base is forward whenever they are late; when they try to clear, he jumps and intercepts with a stick smash; and when they high clear, they give him time to use his deceptive overhead shots or power smash. In contrast, LCW tries to get behind the shuttle whenever he can, which makes him have to move a lot more and sacrifices the speed of his intercepts for power. It also makes him more vulnerable to counter attack. If you watch LD, he is rarely scrambling for his opponent's counter after his attack, whereas LCW does this quite frequently. On a different note, I think that if LCW wants to improve his game he needs to commit less to his attacks and learn how to hit those fast stick smashes that LD is famous for. He also needs to make the speed of his deception in the front court a little faster and less extravagant. He can match LD in terms of speed, but his technique is not quite there. Just my observations from watching most of the LD vs LCW matches that have happened in the past 3 years.
Yes, agreed to cobalt and Stratlover...Once you develop a good power in shoulder, arm and wrist, you would be able to do it.
