Now for the finals: MS Final Chen Yu has the ability to wrong foot Lin Dan, and put the shuttle on the floor, but Such is Lins' Athletic ability he can recover, and put the shuttle in a position that often puts him back in control. Lin has always been a counter attacker and his attacks seem to becoming less frequent these days, perhaps as he is not required to play in top gear. He can still attack the net well when he wants to though, and it is this ability to both defend better, attack better, and be fitter than others that places him on a level higher than anyone else. Sony pushed him the hardest this year, taking a game and frustrating him into a few more errors. If sony can improve his stamina he could possibly cause an upset someday. WS Final Pi Was nowhere near XXF level, possibly due to Tiredness from playing ZN the previous day, but also because XXF was very accurate in her attack, and consistent in defence. It was a non-contest really from the begginning. MD Final CY/FHF looked like they were lacking confidence to beat the MAS pair. Fu in particular looked sluugish and unwiling to take the initiative in the rally, and Cai Yun was wary about comitting at the net. KKK/TBH blew them off the court and although the second game was closer the CHN pair looked very flat. WD Final "Battle of the bridesmaids!" Niether of the players on court had won AE before, ZJW indeed runner up 5(?) times with two different partners. As in the semi FInals WY/ZY were much more attacking, and forcing the pace more, whereas YW/ZJW were seemingly happy to lift and absorb the pressure. WY/ZY rested in the middle game, and were very nervous in the final few points, trying to smash the winner everytime rather than continue their previous gameplan. The result was tight, several times they thought they had won, and it would have been cruel to have lost. Wei Yili and Zhang Yawen both win their first major title. XD Final Probably the Best final of the day. The home heroes against the new "wonder pairing". CHN pair had to deal with the crowd against them and a fired up ENG pair. Gl PLayed poorly in the first set, as she did in the previous years final. Last year Zhang Jun played tremendously to keep them in the game, and this time ZB did the same, in much the same way, good defense to make the ENG pair hit harder, and incisive strokplay to force an error or short lift. In the second game Gao ling was still not attacking the net well, backing off and lifting frequently (frustrating myself). ZB held it together in what must surely be the biggest match of his career so far. Gl becoma more attacking in the third game, but she is slower and less attacking than in previous years. Perhaps she knows that her partner is more mobile and consistent than her old partner (ZJ) or perhaps she is simply getting old. I remember reading somewhere on BC that China Team make the pairings to beat the closest rivals. Previously this was Kim Dong Moon and Ra Kyun ming. They combatted Kim by having a very fast, attacking style of pair to prevent KDM controlling the play. Maybe with KDM retiring, and the next best being The ENG Pairs they have altered the style, as to beat the ENG pairs you are required to play rallies and play consistently to force them into making mistakes and soak up their attacks. Initially I was intrigued to see ZB/GL- How could an "ordinary" even "Failed" doubles player team up with an ageing star and become unbeatable instantly. In Many ways I was disspointed, in that they do not play a special game, in fact they play very ordinary badminton, no big smash, not especially fast, not especially controlling (in fact more so they are defensive.). They are not unbeatable however, as their style allows others to "have a chance" but they have very striong mental strength, and consistency under pressure.
it's not that this new pair is overly good. in fact, i think that the GL/ZJ pair in 2004 would probably beat the current pair. but i would say that GL and ZB are very consistent in their effort. every rally they will bring it to you and they'll eventually wear you down. after a while there opponents get weary. also, having world class mental strength and physical stamina really helps
Disappointing Sad to see Donna tire so much in the last set and a half, and they did appear to change their tactics, Clark's deceptive drops and cross court smashes did a lot of damage in the first game and a half, but they appeared to change to a far more predictable style later in the game. Gao certainly wasn't her usual dominating self and to my mind Zheng bo was pretty ordinary, they were there for the taking I think. Not an enormous amount of quality in the mixed department at the moment imho. Widianto and Natsir number 1 seeds, a bit of a joke really. Could you imagine Widianto in comparison to Kim Dong Moon or Thomas Lund? No comparison!!! Whinge over!! :crying:
Agree with hcyong, Gao isn't a tart, her age is not considered old in doubles play. She did look ordinary 'cos the ENG pair were allowed to dominate .... once Donna started tiring midway thru 2nd game, Gao retakes control of the front court. ENG pair muz learn energy management, I think they were too excitable, playing to the tune of the home crowd.
"Ageing Tart" You posted "Initially I was intrigued to see ZB/GL- How could an "ordinary" even "Failed" doubles player team up with an ageing tart and become unbeatable instantly." :crying:
aye mate, that's where it came from, and aye, i believe it's a tad harsh myself. i believe GL should be put up there amongst the game's legends for her accomplishments in the much more competitive modern era ...
James Thank you for your excellent reviews. I must say that your text are the most informative from all I managed to read from this AE. Unfortunately I decided to not go to AE this year and rather try my limited badminton skills than watching others excellent ones. I was there in 2005 and 2006 and I must say that this is a perfect tournament in terms of quality of badminton, presentation and everything around. Hope that your car accident was not serious. Cheers
The car accidnet wasn't mine. I was just stuck in the delays caused by it (causing me to miss LCW Vs Chen Yu) Sorry you couldn't make it this time, may be next year. Or are you going to Surdiman Cup?
