After a great days play yesterday with exciting matches the lineup for today was slightly less appetizing, but even so here is the review. MS SF Firstly Chen Yu Vs Chen Jin. I am not sure whether Chen Jin's and Chen Yu rise is due to the lowering level of the remaining field and the new CHN players after XXZ/Chen Hong retirements, but they are both quality players in their own right. Technique wise and speed wise they are very similar, but Chen Yu has a definite edge in stroke play. Chen Jin is a hard worker, but is often chasing the game as he Strokes are not as penetrative as other players. Once Chen Yu had weathered the storm in the first game Chen Jin was easier meet. If chen Jin is to become as good as his predecessors, then he needs to devleopment some more skill at the net, and some more flair into his play. Lin Vs Bao was a very flat game. Bao Had played poorly in all the rounds struggling in three enders to all of Susilo, Vaughn and Sato. Whilst he is better technically than before, and is still physically fast and accurate in his play, he even makes less unforced errors than before, he seems to have lost the ability to put the shuttle on the floor like he used to. He is lacking confidence, and Lin has completely the better game to play Bao's style now. No Contest. WS SF Some of the most interesting games of the day in this category today. Culminating in the nail biting Finale to the Zhang Ning/Pi Hongyan match. Zhang ning is become more and more so a rally orientated player, and with her age catching up with her, I can see her losing more often to others soon. Usually so reliable in beating opponents from other nations, where her compatriots have failed to do so (Zhou Mi/Gong Ruina often lost to Mia) this was a shock, and was the longest singles match (men and women) in the entire tournament. Zhu Lin vs XXF wa sinteresting, in that it showed that Zhu can beat XXF in the second game in particular I thought Zhu would take it to three. Zhu needs to vary her game more however, as she plays too many attacking shots when not in control of the rally, putting her under pressure. If she could curb this habit and rally a little more, she can beat everyone. XXF has improved tremendously recently, particularly her physical condition. She is much more agile than before, and her footwork is much smoother now. MD SF KKK/TBH never let JE/ML into the game and were good enough defensively to counter the variation in smashes that often is the downfall of other Asian pairs. KKK has tremendous racket skills that change the direction of play and unsettles his opponents. CY/FHF looked comfortable against TG/CW as they are faster than them. TG/CW let them attack and although push them defensively, were not strong enough to rattle them. WD SF Not much to say here, except both YW/ZJW and GL/HS look very flat in their Doubles play. Previously they used to play a very fast and powerful game to forced their opponents into mistakes, but they seem to play slower now, and let opponents attack them. This results in longer games. WY/ZY looked like their compatriots used to, faster and forcing the play. GL/HS never really looked like winning. The MAS pair were ok in the 1st, but maybe lacked fitness and beleif to push YW/ZJW in the second and made many errors. XD SF HHB/YY IMO were fortunate to reach the semi after injury to Natsir in the 2nd round gave them an easier Quarter. They never really threatened ZB/GL. Clark/Kellog played very well to Beat XZB/ZY. They frustrated the CHN pair with good defensive works, and moving XZB around the court, which with his size is harder for him. Zhang Yawen has put on a lot of weight!
