How long will Ivanov and Sozonov play together?

Discussion in 'Professional Players' started by Tactim, Sep 29, 2017.

  1. Tactim

    Tactim Regular Member

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    Truth be told I could not find a thread for this Russian MD pair no matter how long I searched. But after watching them in the most recent daihatsu japan tournament, ivanov became quite frustrated frequently with sozonov’s mistakes or decision making. Obviously one partner is never to fully blame for a loss, but through all their recent matches, ivanov has really been the more consistent partner, makes the plays, makes fewer errors, better situational awareness.

    Maybe Sozonov was going through a rough patch, but I could definitely feel a lot of tension between the two, likely causing their loss in the semifinals against their japanese opponents.

    Realistically there is probably no other male player who can really play to sozonov’s level as the talent pool is very small in Russia. Do you all think this is just a temporary thing? Or do you think this will become a long term problem for this pair?
     
  2. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Actually imho Ivanov even though he's great, but he's a tough doubles partner to have. He's always quite harsh on Sozonov's mistakes, chasing him down to berate him, even though often times it was obvious that it was Ivanov who caused them to be disadvantaged with a poor shot selection. In doubles, both players have to play together to maximize each other's abilities. But I don't see any sign of encouragement from Ivanov for his partner. So usually by the time the match pressure starts to pile up, Sozonov makes even more mistakes.

    I actually feel sorry for poor Sozonov.
     
  3. Nine Tailed Fox

    Nine Tailed Fox Regular Member

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    Ivanov has no right to harass Sozonov after Sozonov makes flurry of mistakes. Remember Ivanov is no Fu Haifeng or Lee Yong Dae himself.
     
  4. Justin L

    Justin L Regular Member

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    Never blame your partner for any mistakes during the game, in full view of the public, but always stay positive and be encouraging, or it'll only affect him/her and make things worse. If you're really unhappy with your partner, talk it out later, heart to heart, after the match. Sometimes, your partner may just be having a bad day, and it can happen to you too.

    Only when the differences cannot be resolved, then split amicably. Camaraderie, mutual tacit understanding and giving your partner the fullest support on and off court is vital for success. Otherwise, better to part ways without animosity as you may never know what the future has in store for both of you. It takes two to tango well.
     
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  5. R20190

    R20190 Regular Member

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    ^^ Well that's it. If Ivanov cannot see that what he is doing is actually making the situation worse, he is in fact partly to blame.

    Does he really think that by making negative statements towards his partner during a match is going to help their cause? He obviously cannot control himself and should be at least partly to blame.
     
  6. **KZ**

    **KZ** Regular Member

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    yes sozonov is not as talented and ivanov can get pretty frustrated with his partner's mistakes, but they seem pretty close at least from social media posts, then again it can be another facade.
     
  7. Khamenman

    Khamenman Regular Member

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    Do you mean Ivanov's level?
     
  8. Tactim

    Tactim Regular Member

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    In this particular case, I do mean sozonov. Despite Ivanov's flaws, he is the playmaker and more threatening player of the pair. So, unless Russia has another player who can play equal to or better than Sozonov's level to pair with Ivanov, the pair would have no choice but to stay together.
     
  9. Khamenman

    Khamenman Regular Member

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    I see.. I get what you mean
     
  10. Ajinkya_Dan

    Ajinkya_Dan Regular Member

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    Well I had a chance to see Ivanov play live at the Indian Badminton League when he had paired up with K Maneesha of India for mixed doubles. Well Maneeha is a youngster with her ranking in the late 60's or something I reckon. I could actually see Ivanov getting frustrated with her mistakes and constantly talking to her after almost every point. Poor Manisha got even more nervous and made even more errors.

    While I do agree sometimes you might get a lil bit frustrated with your partner's errors/bad shot selection, but you could always handle it better. This always happens at club level matches, but at a top-10 level, it's quite surprising!

    Though i'm a huge fan of LYD. sometimes once in a while i could see his frustration against YYS after he makes an error, though not as prominent or as obvious as Ivanaov. Anyway I could be overthinking about LYD. Did anyone else feel the same against LYD by any chance?
     
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  11. Shuttlingus

    Shuttlingus Regular Member

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    It's fine, they're friends.

    They're also the top two Russian MD players by far, so no real chance to mix up partnerships. Not that they need to, they've had good results, just not able to compete in Asia.

    The thing that makes it tough for Sozonov is that Ivanov needs him to play in a very specific way, and one that is high risk. Sozonov also personally seems to enjoy playing the really fine margin shots, which of course leads to mistakes. Ivanov is a difficult character to manage so he needs to play with someone who can either stand up to him and boss him around a bit like he does to his partner, or just be able to tolerate his berating, and Sozonov can handle the latter.

    Ivanov is also a bit too big to move around swiftly and be able to change up front court / back court with his partner, and in fact his front court play is very basic so it doesn't free up Sozonov to be creative in different parts of the court. I've actually wondered how good Sozonov's smash is, and i believe that for a front court player he can potentially smash really hard, but he's never able to use his smash much as Ivanov will still smash harder most likely, and also is not very comfortable when he finds himself at the front.
     
  12. vixter

    vixter Regular Member

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    I don't think there is any tension between Ivanov and Sozonov as I believe they are friends off the court, and this friendship makes it possible for them to also show negative feelings on the court without it affecting the future of their partnership.

    I find it strange that some people here see Ivanov as the playmaker in the partnership and that Sozonov would not be as talented. In my eyes, Sozonov is the superior doubles player of the two with more consistency, faster in defense, better front court skills. He is also the one getting more negative and cranky if Ivanov makes too many mistakes.
     
  13. Fidget

    Fidget Regular Member

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    I agree with you that LYD would often show frustration with his partner when things went wrong. Usually by turning away in disgust.
    And when his side won a great point, he would be more likely to turn away and pump his fist rather than look to his partner.
    This doesn't mean LYD didn't have good relationships with his partner. But it was obvious who was the "alpha dog" on the team.

    The same pattern is prevalent in a lot of XD pairs. After a big win, the woman usually turns to her partner with a big smile to share in the glory. But the man, more often than not, first turns to the crowd or the coaches, like he won it all himself.
    _____________

    As for the Russians, I do feel for Sozonov a bit. But whatever their dynamics, they sure are fun to watch! ( Was lucky enough to see them win the 2016 All England. Like a big pair of moose on Ritalin.)
     
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  14. Master

    Master Regular Member

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    Last year, both players joined PBL together in the same team Dehli Dashers.
    Unfortunately, for this season Ivan Sozonov didn't join Vladimir Ivanov to play PBL anymore.

    Anyway, nice uniform by Ivanov below :D

     
  15. samkool

    samkool Regular Member

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    every time i watch sozonov play he just seems like he's over it.
    bored.
    rather be doing something else.
    anything(!) else.
     
  16. furymonkey

    furymonkey New Member

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    Another small outburst from Ivanov in HSBC BWF World Tour Finals | Day 1's match between Ahsan/Setiawan and Ivanov/Sozonov, third game 7-6 Russian's serve.
    He is also visibly more frustrated there on out and lets just say they start to perform worse as result.
     
  17. lurker

    lurker Regular Member

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    and at the ending of the match!
     
  18. stradrider

    stradrider Regular Member

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    May be just not been patient with his partner? Often that is what friends do :)... They were really close in score and had a real chance there.

    I think he was angry that partner was not following their game plan - playing less of the flat and low shots and more in the back...
     
  19. vixter

    vixter Regular Member

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    Ivanov and Sozonov will definitely play together until they retire. If they show negativity towards each other on court it's because they are so comfortable with each other that their friendship allows for that. They know they can play so much better.
     
  20. lurker

    lurker Regular Member

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    Are they (Russia) still barred from playing in the Tour?
     

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