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Originally Posted by ctjcad
Great prediction even Mona's win over Michelle was "unexpected".
and Huand and Jiang...they are more powerful and faster than Grace Peng Yun and Chen ying..basically it is reunion of ex-china players and thirty something club...TG/HB and TH are sure champions la.............
Great prediction even Mona's win over Michelle was "unexpected".
Ruilin Huang beat Anna Rice in the Alberta Open this year, but suffered a sprained ankle in the Canadian Open so I wouldn't be surprised if she withdrew from that event in the US open to concentrate on the WD. Fit, I'd put my money on Ruilin as top WS "in Canada" right now.
If you have cash to burn, bet against Ruilin and Xuelian in the WD too...
Eerrmm..
..a third pair of hands would be gladly welcomed..
One pair of hands to write down the reports..
One pair of hands to record the matches..
One pair of hands to capture all the actions on a DSLR...akhem!!
Day 5 Semifinals recap..
..okay, i was able to enjoy one more night watching the matches, while my partner in crime was busy lifting some extra weights..
XD matches:
For these 2 matches, I’ll just be brief because in fact, they were really brief matches.
- Howard BACH & Eva LEE vs. William MILROY & Fiona MCKEE. Scoreboard indicates otherwise to what really happened and how fast the match ended. In this particular match, it was so fast, it wasn’t even funny. For real, at one pt I was getting ready and all set to record the match, starting from the 11 pt interval, and was expecting at least a 6 minutes show. Nope, it never happened. I pressed the record button and the next time I looked up, the match was over. So, if anyone asks why the video is so short, then that’s the reason why.
- Alvin LAU & Xuelian JIANG vs. Toby NG & Grace GAO. Same deal as the 1st XD match. But at least I was able to record it a bit longer. Jiang XL was the difference in that match. Very aggressive player, despite her petite figure.
For the Finals, I would expect the Canadian pair to squeak out a win. IMO, the difference will be the plays of the ladies. Jiang is a motor and Eva needs to slow her down to have a chance.
Last edited by ctjcad; 07-11-2009 at 11:30 AM.
Day 5 Semifinals recap continues..
WS matches:
Now, for those of you who love long rallies, hard fought battle, these 2 matches sure live up to their expectations.
Anna RICE vs. Nicole GRETHER. Both ladies came out firing in this match. Nicole went first as she kept Anna on her heels and put her stamp on the match in the 1st game. In the 2nd game, Nicole still kept the momentum, but Anna started to slowly and patiently find her rhythm and game back. With many beautiful rallies, Anna was able to wrest the 2nd game and level the score at one a piece. In the 3rd game, it was basically neck and neck until the middle of the interval. And that’s when the more consistent Anna finally pulled away and clinched her first ever U.S. Open Final appearance.
Mona SANTOSO vs. Michelle LI. This has gotta be the most exciting match of the evening. Down 1 game to the very energetic Li and still languishing in the first part of the 2nd game, something must’ve hit Mona and she started to play with more urgency. I would guess, the turning pt was when Mona got a very easy, loose return, which she smacked the shuttle just long. She couldn’t believe the call as she pleaded with the umpire. From that moment on, Mona’s fire started to ignite and she finally played with more vigor. Something clicked & she rallied back and took the 2nd game much to the big support from the crowd. In the 3rd game, which I missed cos I was away chewing and swallowing my dinner at the same time, Mona simply ran away and continued her assault with heavy smashes. It was all attacks from the Indonesian as Michelle could only respond with her many errors.
Yes, Mona’s come from behind win was unexpected and she will be competing in her first ever U.S. Open Final, surprisingly as a Singles player.
For the Finals, it’s hard to tell. Mona’s style of play and movements on court are not really smooth. Let’s see if she can keep up her attacks against a very patient and rally oriented Anna.
Day 5 Semifinals recap continues..
MS matches:
- Hsuan Yi HSUEH vs. Stefan WOJCIKIEWICZ. Stefan came out ready to play and challenged Hsuan Yi’s repeated smashes in the 1st game. With his patient type of game, Stefan held the fort and took the 1st game, pretty much unchallenged. In the 2nd game, things were still looking rosy for Stefan and everyone thought he would steal the match. But the turning pt happened at the interval pt. From then on, Hsuan Yi started to play with more patient and was able to create some easy pts from some clever set-ups. Add in also a few lucky touches here and there and Hsuan Yi was able to even the score. In the 3rd game, it was also even steven for both players. Up until Stefan apparently tried to retrieve the shuttle but for some reason must’ve turned his knee as he tried to move backward (that’s what I heard from another witness). I didn’t witness what happened, but the next thing I realized was they had just called off the match. Stefan was still standing as he was packing his belongings from the court, but was obviously in some pain.
- Taufik HIDAYAT vs. Carl BAXTER. Well, Taufik once again showed who’s boss. This time displaying more of his backhand x-court smash return shots which left Carl speechless and the crowd buzzing with the “Ooohs and Aahhs”. With his uncanny feel of the shuttle, at one pt showing off his backhand smash, Taufik was able to take the match relatively easily.
What’s in store for the Final? This U.S. Open title is for Taufik to lose.
Day 5 Semifinals recap continues..
MD matches:
- Jurgen KOCH & Peter ZAUNER vs. Martin BILLE LARSEN & Jacob CHEMNITZ. Unlike the previous night, Martin’s & Jacob’s game fizzled as the veteran Jurgen and Peter took matters into their hands and decided not to allow the same thing which happened to the English pair happens to them. Quick, fast and strong to the point, Jurgen and Peter wrapped up the match in a fast fashion.
- Howard BACH & Tony GUNAWAN vs. William MILROY & Toby NG. Tony is still da man. Enough said.
For the Finals, I would expect the U.S. pair to clinch and add another MD title to their collection.
Day 5 Semifinals recap continues..
WD matches:
- Ying CHEN & Yun (Grace) PENG vs. Priscilla LUN & Mesinee MANGKALAKIRI. The battle between 2 teachers and 1 of their pupils. In some instances, it was almost like another practice session out there for the veteran ex-China’s national players.
- Ruilin HUANG & Xuelian JIANG vs. Nicole GRETHER & Charmaine REID. The last match of the night. What can i say. It was long. It was sometimes boring. It was a few times unwatchable. It was a pure display of brute force vs. finesse play. But the crowd, those who patiently waited til the end, definitely enjoyed the 2nd half of the 3rd game. In the 1st game, it was brute force vs. finesse style. Nicole & Charmaine showed their power as they rumbled through the 1st game. The Canadian pair seemed to have no answer for Nicole & Charmaine non-stop attacks. In the 2nd game, things were still going good for Nicole & Charmaine. But the Canadian pair never gave up as they forced the 3rd game. In the final game, Charmaine & Nicole were still displaying their imposing power. But things started going southward, for Charmaine & Nicole, after the interval. At a few point in that last half of the game, the constant pleading of shuttles to be changed by Charmaine and Nicole almost turned comical. Nonetheless, the Canadian pair rallied, put pressure on Charmaine to make plays and dished out 11 straight pts to clinch their first ever U.S. Open Final.
My hunch says, the Canadian pair to win. Once again, Jiang is the motor.
this kind of complete coverage is awesome, thank you ctjcad
Congratz to 2009 US Open GP Winners!
MS -- Taufik Hidayat (INA)
WS -- Anna Rice (CAN)
MD -- Howard Bach/Tony Gunawan (USA)
WD -- Huang Ruilin/Jiang Xuelian (CAN)
XD -- Howard Bach/Eva Lee (USA)
Many thanks for ctjcad report, match analysis and pix during this tourney...
Day 6 Finals Day recap..
..alrighty, last recap of the tourney, for those who missed the livestream.
This yr’s U.S. Open GP produced a double winner in Howard Bach (XD and MD) and 2 medalists in Jiang Xuelian (silver in XD and gold in WD).
XD Final:
Howard BACH & Eva LEE vs. Alvin LAU & Xuelian JIANG. If a bit of tenseness and nervousness were in the air, it probably reflected upon the Canadian pair of Lau and Jiang.
Not only did one of them stumbled a bit upon their introduction & entering to the court, as the first match of the evening, but they also started rather slow. For myself, I was proven otherwise as the much more veteran pairing of Bach and Lee were just too “big-stage” proven than the pairing of Lau & Jiang. Both games went pretty fast as the Canadian pair couldn’t adjust and settle down their game as they piled on the errors. As the scoreboard indicates, Bach and Lee found it relatively easy as they cruised to a 21-13, 21-12 win and captured their first ever U.S. Open title as a XD pair.
WS Final:
Anna RICE vs. Mona SANTOSO. In her first U.S. Open Final appearance, Anna came ready to play and didn’t disappoint her big supportive crowd. It started pretty even as both Anna and Mona traded shot for shot and tried to uncover each other’s weaknesses. But as the 1st game neared its end, Anna was proven to be more fit to play. Mona, on the other hand, seemed to be struggling a bit. Word has it she probably was still in relative pain after her tiresome win the previous day, in the Semifinals Round. In the 2nd game, it was Anna all the way as Mona simply couldn't stay away from making error after error; most of them were long lifts. In the end, the jubilant Anna, who mentioned in the post-match interview that she will participate in the upcoming World Championships and then will tie the knot, finally captured her first ever U.S. Open WS title with the scoreline of 21-17, 21-9.
MS Final:
Taufik HIDAYAT vs.Hsuan Yi HSUEH. With the majority of the crowd, a bulk of them carrying Indonesian mini-flags, cheering, hollering and screaming Taufik’s name, the Wild Child of Badminton finally captured a not-so surprising win over Chinese Taipei’s Hsueh Hsuan Yi. Hsuan Yi tried his best to keep up, even tried to counter-attack Taufik, and closing the gap to one point in one stage of the match, but was just not able to rally and overcome Taufik’s talent. Taufik on the other hand really didn’t exert himself as he wanted, but did display some of his exquisite and jaw-dropping skills to the crowd's delight. In the end, Taufik stepped on the gas pedal to finally grabbed his first ever U.S. Open MS title, with a 21-15, 21-16 score (a title which is still missing from Lin Dan’s cabinet;
*After the prize ceremony, unbeknownst to me, I was, literally, stuck in the middle of a huge mob who all of a sudden gathered around Taufik to take a picture with him. What’s even more dumbfounding was that they all gathered right in front of my very eyes, all 100 of them, within a hand's reach. I kinda sensed Taufik was looking at me twice or three time thinking in his head, “Hey, buddy, you have a camera there, why don’t you take a pic of all of us”. But stupid me, my mind went blank as I didn’t take any picture of that moment.
WD Final:
Ruilin HUANG & Xuelian JIANG vs. Ying CHEN & Yun (Grace) PENG. This one turned out to be a relatively competitive match as 4 ex-China players were pitted against each other. But this time there was no “match fixing” in the agenda.
MD Final:
Howard BACH & Tony GUNAWAN vs. Jurgen KOCH & Peter ZAUNER. After winning their first ever World Championship MD title in 2005, and their last title on the U.S. soil, Tony and Howard finally teamed up again and put on a display reminiscent of their glorious past. The U.S. pair did not give much of a chance against the Austria pairing of Koch and Zauner as Tony controlled the front and Howard was doing his usual attacks from the back. It was simply not much of a contest, as the former World Champions worked in sync to secure a 21-12, 21-9 win and add another U.S. Open MD title to their previous 2 U.S. Open titles.
*For those who watched the livestream, the company who does the livestream will edit and have the videos available in the near future. They will be available from the U.S. Olympics website.
Last edited by ctjcad; 07-12-2009 at 02:05 PM.
great job chris! sorry we couldn't meet up to chat a bit during the tournament. there will be other occasions though!
Thanks ctjcad for all the recaps and pictures.
One question. These trophies are so big and look like they have past winners edged on them. Do they actually take them home? Or just to hold them and leave them behind at OCBC?
Comment. On the webcast, I thought Mesinee was very comfortable and very good as a commentator. Maybe a TV career after badminton. Eva was very good too, I must say. But I am sure about that Steve guy
Where to see the webcast? Please advise
I watched it live via info on this link, http://www.badmintoncentral.com/foru...ad.php?t=72451
Hope someone recorded it to share
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