It's been a long time since I've seen them play and not gonna lie, I'm very impressed by the way matsutomo play at the front court...she's becoming so aggresive!! Definitely need to watch more of their matches in the future.
TakaMatsu have won 5 titles. The biggest one they have achieved this year is WTF. Though they missed AG individual gold medal, their big titles are more than any of other Japanese players. To me, they are the most successful JPN WD in the history. They have won 14 SS/WT500+ titles throughout their career plus one OG gold medal. Next year, their target should be the WC title. They miss this title in their collection. I hope they are trying for it, but it will not easy as other JPN WDs will stand in their way to earn the WC title.
Yes I agree, they are the pair who most of the time creates history for JPN in many occasions. I hope they will keep improving and give the audience great matches to watch .
Morten Frost said this whole week has been very impressive for the duo, Misaki-chan displaying some genius reading skills and effective attack variations. It seems like they have been preparing new things behind the curtains for big events and this week was their showdown time. The confidence of the new implementations they gained this Sunday will give them the option to adjust play styles EFFECTIVELY depending on the situation. For fans it's surely a relief to see their defensive abilities reaching new heights. Now its more a matter of keeping their heads cool and play with focus regardless of the situation odds.
Yes my faith has certainly been restored seeing them play last week at the Finals! Needless to say it was a very pleasant surprise that is indeed most welcome given their average performance in the last few tournaments. I think if MM nails her low serves and continue developing new skills on front court they will be a very deadly pair in 2020.
Happened to re-visit this match by chance on YT- and noticed that MM was literally shaking when trying to do a low serve- hopefully it's not causing too much pressure on her; or maybe that's mainly why majority of her low serves suck?
Results from the last 3 tournaments have been very bad. Losing in R1/R2 to three different Korean pairs after what looked to be a domination over these Korean pairs after beating 3 of these 6 players in the German Open earlier this year. Wonder if they'll even get selected in the Sudirman Cup. Ranking is bound to go a bit low especially if they fail to defend a lot of their points in the coming months (Asian Championships, Indonesia Open, etc.). Qualification for the World Tour Finals should also be a priority for them if they want to defend their Olympic title. They still have time to rein it back in but they should be very wary. Takahashi in particular needs to improve her game. Her service is faltering. Her service returns are mostly the same and very predictable. They should also employ different tactics vs these Korean pairs as lower-ranked pairs can beat them (Matsuyama/Shida and even Kititharakul/Prajongjai can beat Baek/Kim. Kim Hye Jeong/Kong Hee Yong are also easily beaten by Stoevas, Tanaka/Yonemoto among others.)
Again it is Takahashi who is out of sorts. They may have needed the points for this tournament... whether for Olympic qualification or for the World Tour Finals. They squandered it completely. Why even join this tournament when you are not interested in winning?
I've just finished watching the final. I sense quite a lot of mental fatigue coming from Takahashi, the sloppy mindset once under pressure end up affecting her REACTION TIME and ACCURACY for the counter-attacking defenses. Despite the services errors Misaki is actually doing the heavy work when it comes to make decisive moves. That means opponents rely on Takahashi positioning to relief their pressure and initiate creative shots. I would suggest the head coach to give Takahashi more front court practice to inspire her into making more creative shots and RENEW her excitement for the matches during this process. Finding ways for both players to score quick points from the net when the opposition is touch remains imo their best improving option. Their classical offensive formation become dangerous if the sharpness/power of the shots coming from the back are lacking. I know this is not a Japanese thing but if the pair can communicate a bit more on a emotional level between rallies this could help the ongoing shaky player to regain belief and will. Ex of the problem : in game 2 during the final the coach barely spoke to Ayaka as like he was ignoring the break down, in his position I could have tried to cheer her up. That's maybe why the mental problem is over extending for month now, they might not take care of the thing at that psycho/emotional level leaving her handle the issue own her own. If they are talking tactics all the time that can get annoying for someone who is having a bad day or is lacking form (and end up being targeted by the opponents). On the flip side Misaki services could also be caused by too much pressure she put on herself as she aim for perfection. I might repeat myself here but I'm sure there is margin for her to hit the shuttle at a higher contact point, she's been serving the same way for ages.
Body language has been the same with these pairs when they're losing, or when the tough gets going in crucial moments. I've been noticing these lately. Misaki/Ayaka, and now Yuki/Sayaka - their last few losses. Only Matsumoto and Nagahara don't.
It's a bit crazy how communication seems to have totally broken down b/w Matsutomo and Takahashi. Barely even any eye contact. Anybody has any clue on what's going on?