An analysis of the results of the Malaysia Open SS, 1st Round played yesterday revealed some interesting findings: 1. Of the 79 matches played, 27 or 34% (just over a third) went the full distance of three games. The last match of the evening must have ended way past the scheduled time! 2. The 27 three-gamers came from: MS - 8 (The most hotly contested) MD - 6 WD - 5 XD - 5 WS - 3 Of these rubbers, six went slightly past the hour. 3. The longest match lasted 1 hr 7 min between Ng Wei of Hong Kong and Lee Tsuen Seng of Malaysia with the former eventually winning 21-14, 19-21, 21-14. And the second longest of 1 hr 5 min was contested between Taufik Hidayat (6) of Indonesia and Park Sung Hwan of Korea. Wasn't it a surprise that Taufik could last that long? One must therefore surmise that Taufik had prepared himself quite well. But Taufik almost lost had he not recovered 22-20 in the second game after losing 15-21 to Park in the first. Hopefully Taufik could recover sufficiently for his next battle against younger teammate, Simon Santoso, today to give spectators their money's worth. 4. One rubber match was decided only at the very last point when Mohd Razif Abdul Latif and Chong Sook Chin of Malaysia edged out Howard Bach and Eva Lee of USA, 14-21, 21-18, 30-29! 5. One newcomer to the scene, Jeanine Cicognini of Switzerland shocked Li Li of Singapore, winining 21-15, 23-25, 21-18. And who could name the best match of the day? a) Taufik b Park 15-21, 22-20, 21-16 b) Sairul Amar Ayob b Muhd Roslin Hashim 11-21, 21-14, 21-16. (both MAS) c) Andre Kurniawan Tejono (INA) b Eric Pang (NED) 18-21, 22-20, 22-20. d) Tan Bin Shen/Ong Soon Hock (MAS) b Albertus Susanto Njoto/Joko Riyadi (HKG) 17-21, 25-23, 22-20. (What a comeback from the Malaysians!) e) Lee Hyun Il (KOR) b Sony Dwi Kuncoro (5) (INA) 12-21, 24-22, 21-16 (Another great comeback!) f) Abdul Latif/Sook Chin b Bach/Eva 14-21, 21-18, 30-29. (Kudos to the young Malaysian XD) So this first round of the first SS for year 2008 has proven to be a very exciting start. The NSS has taken a new turn with players honing their skills much better, making less mistakes and extending the match longer, some past an hour! Some new faces are able to excite the spectators by shocking some of the old guards. This is a great prelude to the Beijing Olympics in August!
Tommy, you're the guy who seems to be always holding a knife ... and the prospective victim always seems to be Kendrick!
Nah...not only Kendrick....anything related to Singapore will be victimised by him Back to the NSS, the matches yesterday were definitely VERY LONG!!!!! I couldn't believe it went over-time and they had to cut 2 sets to end just in time. RTM couldn't even bother to broadcast the final match
For some reason.. ..at least to me, the WS Final didn't seem to last as long as the time it lasted..On the other hand, the MS and definitely the WD Finals seemed to last a long time..
Are u serious? The WS match was the LONGEST match yesterday at 69 mins, while the MS and WD were equal at 62 mins "only".
Yes, the WS lasted the longest. Just wonder whether they added in the medical attention time given to Tine. If not, it would have be longer.
Yes.. ..it's weird, isn't it..i guess the intensity and tenseness of the performance were the reasons, esp. after Tine rallied in the 2nd set to force rubber set; even the crowd at the stadium was feeling the same..For the MD, if it was not for the rubber set thriller, i doubt it'll be as exciting and nerve-wrecking as it was..
I take it as NSS is here to stay? I like the NSS, more exciting to watch and more suspense as element of surprise is always there. Some argue it loses the charm of long rally utilizing stamina but watching LCW vs LHI in the Malaysia Final, there was no sign of such occurrence. I think players have started to adapt the NSS.