2006 US Open

**monto** · 08-11-2006, 11:57 PM

Originally Posted by ctjcad

..btw, i met with Tony G. and asked him if he's going to HK Open and he said yes and guess who is he going to pair up with.............yup, he's back with Candra again(i'm sure their names are in the draw already)..so for those BC fans in HK(ie. taneepak, badMania and the rest, what a treat you guys'll have)..

Candra? How about Halim? Does he plan to ditch Howard Bach altogether in a months time at the World Championships?

**badMania** · 08-12-2006, 12:05 AM

Amazing...the Russians are going home with at least 2 titles after their WD and XD pairs marched to the finals tomorrow.

In the mixed doubles, Vitaly Durkin/Valerya Sorokina beat the home favorites Howard Bach/Eva Lee in 3 tight sets 21-18, 17-21, 21-15. The Russian pair will meet their counterpart Sergey Ivlev/Nina Vislova. Later on, the two Russian girls (Valerya Sorokina/Nina Vislova) managed to beat Johannah Lee/Grace Peng again in 3 sets 21-19, 18-21, 21-11. They will play against Marina Yakusheva/Ella Karachkova.

In the men's doubles, Valery Durkin also partnered Alexander Nikolaenko and beat Kyle Foley/Brian Prevoe 21-8, 24-22. They will meet the overwhelming favorite Tony Gunawan/Halim Haryanto, who are not troubled so far. They beat the other Russian pair of Evgeny Dremin/Sergey Lunev 21-13, 21-15. It will ba a major shock if the former World and All-England champion lose tomorrow!

The men's singles is the only event to have the top seed Yousuke Nakanishi playing against the second seed Andrew Dabeka in the final. As for the women's singles, Ella Karachkova is going for two golds as she will meet the home favorite Johannah Lee tomorrow.

**badMania** · 08-12-2006, 12:06 AM

Originally Posted by monto

Candra? How about Halim? Does he plan to ditch Howard Bach altogether in a months time at the World Championships?

Tony Gunawan is NOT GOING to the World Championships. There will be a new winner!

**ctjcad** · 08-12-2006, 12:35 AM

Originally Posted by monto

Candra? How about Halim? Does he plan to ditch Howard Bach altogether in a months time at the World Championships?

Yes, they're back for more exhibition actions..I will confirm with Halim tomorrow to ask what's his plan, if i'm able to meet him...Abt Tony and Howard teaming up together again for the upcoming WC, hmm, i doubt they'll go back and defend their title- i don't know..But i will confirm with Tony tomorrow as well, if i have a chance to meet him..

**ctjcad** · 08-12-2006, 12:42 AM

Just came back from the SF day of the U.S. Open...got lotsa pics and reviews to share with y'all...but i will reply to badMania's review first..

Originally Posted by badMania

Amazing...the Russians are going home with at least 2 titles after their WD and XD pairs marched to the finals tomorrow.

In the mixed doubles, Vitaly Durkin/Valerya Sorokina beat the home favorites Howard Bach/Eva Lee in 3 tight sets 21-18, 17-21, 21-15. The Russian pair will meet their counterpart Sergey Ivlev/Nina Vislova. Later on, the two Russian girls (Valerya Sorokina/Nina Vislova) managed to beat Johannah Lee/Grace Peng again in 3 sets 21-19, 18-21, 21-11. They will play against Marina Yakusheva/Ella Karachkova.

yes, and i think it will be quite a battle, both pairs are solid..But i think Ivlev and Vislova are gonna get the title(will have pics later)..It should be a close one, unless one pair decide to "give away" the match to the other..?!?!..

In the men's doubles, Valery Durkin also partnered Alexander Nikolaenko and beat Kyle Foley/Brian Prevoe 21-8, 24-22. They will meet the overwhelming favorite Tony Gunawan/Halim Haryanto, who are not troubled so far. They beat the other Russian pair of Evgeny Dremin/Sergey Lunev 21-13, 21-15. It will ba a major shock if the former World and All-England champion lose tomorrow!

Hmm, nah, i doubt Tony and Halim will lose..The weak link of the 4 of them is Nikolaenko...Though Durkin is a real deal, very solid and consistent player..(will have pics later)..

The men's singles is the only event to have the top seed Yousuke Nakanishi playing against the second seed Andrew Dabeka in the final. As for the women's singles, Ella Karachkova is going for two golds as she will meet the home favorite Johannah Lee tomorrow.

both matches will be interesting...Johannah suffered a scare in the 2nd set, as she appeared to injured her right ankle, but rallied back after being down and won in a tight 2nd set(will have pics also)..

Alright, that's a quickie review...stay tune for the pics and my review in a bit..

**ctjcad** · 08-12-2006, 12:48 AM

Originally Posted by event

Yeah, what's going on with Charmaine Reid's top? It looks like she's wearing a sports bra or something.
I can't see any photos that are in focus that show any of the Canadians wearing that. The only others I can tell are Canadian are just wearing regular polo shirts with dull colours.

sorry event for the blurred pics...yah, as far as i remember, the Canadians basically wore a simple red and plain white polos/skirt/shorts..As far as i remember, the only ones that wore different colors were C. Reid and Dabeka..

**KZ** · 08-12-2006, 02:18 AM

wow....the russians are pretty good....i guess badminton is really getting more and more popular....

**ctjcad** · 08-12-2006, 03:00 AM

..OK folks, here are the pics and review of Day 4 actions...Arrived a few minutes before the start, and surprisingly not many people were in the stands..Almost none!!..Considering this is a Semifinal day, i was a bit surprise by the lack of attendance..Only til the start of the MS/WS or halfway thru the XD matches, were people start filling in..

Anyways, here are the pics and noticeable reviews:
- XD match #1 - Dremin/Dimova vs. their compatriots Islev/Vislova...the match was pretty fast, almost done within 20 minutes..Islev was throwing bombs whenever he can while Vislova was just as quick at the net...Didn't see the same Dremin as i saw in the QF, seemed slow out there-Dremin and his partner really never had a chance to regroup and established their game....This match was going to be the start of a bad day for Dimova..

- XD match #2 - Bach/Lee vs. Durkin/Sorokina..wow, it was a pretty good match all around. The Russian pair took the first set, but the OCBC pair fought back to regain the 2nd set..However in the 3rd, it was coast to coast for the Russian..Again, Bach tried his best, but it was Bach's partner which was "attacked' most of the time..As Durkin was basically "aiming" at Eva Lee and she couldn't do anything much..
- MS match #1 - Nakanishi vs. Wojciekewics(sp.??)..Nakanishi basicaly controlled the game from the beginning..No match..BTW, he reminded me LCW and the way he plays(small stature, lean but very2 quick)..
- MS match #2 - Vaughn vs. Dabeka..It was an interesting match, but Dabeka really controlled Vaughn..
- WS match #1 - Johanna Lee vs. Dimova..wow, what an ending to Dimova..Not only did she lose the 2nd set, after leading by a few pts and having Johanna slightly injured her right ankle, but at the end, she threw her racket in frustration..After the match, she basically put a towel on her head and just walked away..It was a great ending as fans were really pulling for the local and hometown Johanna..
- WS match #2 - between Eva Lee vs. Nantuchova(sp??)..it was no contest, Eva gave it her all, but came short..
- MD match #1 - between Durkin/Nikolaenko vs Foley/LeFoie(sp??)...The Canadian pair tried their best, but Durkin was there controlling and really played magnificently..
- MD match #2 - between Tony/Halim vs. Pavel/Dremin...no contest for the 2 veterans..still quick eventhough playing against a pair almost 10 yrs younger than them..There was a play during the match, where Dremin tried to do a Tony Gunawan's impersonation of throwing the racket out and then grabbing another on from the sideline..After the play, the umpire had to call Dremin and asked him what's going on??..Also during the match, i quickly glanced to see Durkin's reaction, who was sitting on the bench, and all i saw was him shaking his head and in "awe"...Tomorrow he will get a lesson from the Tony-meister himself..hehe

- WD match #1 - between Johanna/Grace vs. Vislova/Sorokina...Well, folks, Grace and Johanna gave it all their best but there's just too much to defend, too quick, too strong, too clever and most importantly too young..Again, they did it with hard work, smart shot selections and defense..After watching 3 continuous days, we'llprobably have the "best overall" *woman's* player in thie tourney, hands down in Vislova, at least from myself..Her game is so efficient yet she made it look effortless that people watching her game will enjoy it..Very2 consistent and doesn't make a lot of mistakes..Thruout the tourney, she really controlled the game and seemd to thrived playing from the back, moving side to side, front and back with fluidity..One thing i noticed abt her technique, she always if not most of the time put her racket up and in a ready position for the next shot..Her partner is the weaker link, but she's also quick at the net..
- WD match #2 - between the other Russian pairs...I'll say it was a doozer..

As far as the outlook for tomorrow's Final matches should be interesting also..I certainly hope all the combatants will give it all their best and give a good showing to the public..I think the XD pairs from Russia were the luckiest winner(as Tony had to WO cos his partner, Minarti Timur wasn't able to come; imagine if they would've played)..hmm

Anyways, enjoy the pics folks. I will divide this into several posts(lots of pics to share)..And sorry for the blurry images, still..

Off topic:I think i've given it my best after trying certain settings. Apparently my camera's lens spec is 34mm to 102mm only..

And even if i use the Sports mode, i can't change the ISO nor the LT exposure...the picture will still come out dark...

**ctjcad** · 08-12-2006, 03:30 AM

here are some more pics..noticed in one of the pic, they have kids clapping those balloon clappers..

**ctjcad** · 08-12-2006, 03:44 AM

here are some more..

**jamesshieh88** · 08-12-2006, 04:04 AM

here's what i thought of some of the matches i saw.

XD - Bach/Lee vs. Durkin/Sorokina: like ctjcad said Howard tried as much as he could to cover Eva. i thought the final points of the match could've gone either way but the Russias outsmarted the American pair simply by attacking Eva. It was a hard fought match for them. After the match, you could see the disappointment that was on the face of Howard. Man do I wish I have the legs of Howard.

MS - Nakanishi vs. Wojcikiewicz: Nokanishi dominated from the beginning until the end. He was very quick and ran Wojcikiewicz all around the court and it was clearly visible that Wojcikiewicz wasn't able to keep up with Nakanishi.

MS - Vaughn vs. Dabeka: i would have to disagree with ctjcad on this. I thought either individual would be able to take it. They both seemed evenly matched. Just whoever was the more consistent in the end.

WS - Lee vs. Karachkova: the match was over right from the beginning. Eva was either hitting everything long or into the net. Karachkova controlled the entire game from the beginning.

MD - Gunawan/Haryanto vs. Dremin/Lunev: no contest at all. the russian pair simply couldn't get through the defenses of Tony and Halim. They would throw smashes from all directions but were deflected right back. I was amazed with the control Tony and Halim had. Though they had a slow start in the 2nd set, they never lost control of the match. I think the umpire told Dremin to put his rackets away when he went to grab a second one while losing his first one during a rally. My friends and I had a nice laugh since we've never seen this done before.

Most of the points that the Russians scored were not from great shots they hit but from simple errors committed by Tony and Halim.

This is what the finals will look like come tomorrow night.
XD - Durkin/Sorokina vs. Ivlev/Visova (all Russian final)
MS - Nakanish vs. Dabeka
WS - Karachkova vs. Lee
MD - Gunawan/Haryanto vs. Nikolaeko/Durkin
WD - Vislova/Sorokina vs. Yakusheva/Karachkova (another all Russian final)

i will have pictures up ASAP. it's bedtime for me

**shreky** · 08-12-2006, 08:24 AM

MD - Gunawan/Haryanto vs. Dremin/Lunev: no contest at all. the russian pair simply couldn't get through the defenses of Tony and Halim. They would throw smashes from all directions but were deflected right back. I was amazed with the control Tony and Halim had. Though they had a slow start in the 2nd set, they never lost control of the match. I think the umpire told Dremin to put his rackets away when he went to grab a second one while losing his first one during a rally. My friends and I had a nice laugh since we've never seen this done before.

Most of the points that the Russians scored were not from great shots they hit but from simple errors committed by Tony and Halim.

i think a similar situation happened at the 05 WC. i think it was a 3rd round or a QF match between a Malaysian Pair and I forgot the other side. I remember seeing one of the Malaysian player changing his racquet in the middle of a rally. he did it though very fast as if he never left the court. i don't remember though if they won the point but i think they won their game and moved on to the next round.

**ctjcad** · 08-12-2006, 09:25 AM

..more pics..notice Johanna talking with the tournament's official Referee, that was right after she seemed to injured her right ankle-for a while the fans were holding their breath hoping she would continue..notice also in one of the pics, there's our friend 'Vic Asuncion hanging out with Eric Go..

**ye333** · 08-12-2006, 09:38 AM

The other side is Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng I think.

Originally Posted by shreky

i think a similar situation happened at the 05 WC. i think it was a 3rd round or a QF match between a Malaysian Pair and I forgot the other side. I remember seeing one of the Malaysian player changing his racquet in the middle of a rally. he did it though very fast as if he never left the court. i don't remember though if they won the point but i think they won their game and moved on to the next round.

**ctjcad** · 08-12-2006, 10:03 AM

...here are more...the upcoming MD Finals pitting arguably the 2 best *Men's* doubles players in this tourney, in Durkin and Tony, should be quite interesting...

***kwun*** · 08-12-2006, 10:22 AM

thanks Chris for all the pictures!

**ctjcad** · 08-12-2006, 10:31 AM

..here are more...the Ruslijanko(sp??) gal(1st pic below) is really tall(my guess is around 6'2" or 6'3"), almost like a volleyball or basketball player..i don't know how old she is, but if she's still very young, she could grow even taller..