Setting aside that your comment could be considered a highly offensive reference by some community members of a certain orientation, I have no issues with stating that I was a fan of Momota before he became eMo, the historical records of which are clearly posted for all to see. But nothing lasts forever, and the game has moved on. Physical attributes aside, eMo just doesn’t have the mental fortitude of a champion anymore. That’s something that has been sorely lacking from the tour since LD/LCW retired.
I would liken Momota’a play style to be a post 2013-14 Lin Dan but younger with more stamina and speed. Near equal defense but without the same mental strength. Against most people, this is a lethal combination because no one possesses the attack or patience to get through Momota save 1-2 players. He also doesn’t give you any sign of weakness most of the time. I do wish Momota would be more aggressive at times, though I know he naturally is not an attacking player like axelsen.
In 2013,14 LD was definitely past his prime physical state, but still managed to win WC gold, AG gold, and even the All England two years after that. Why? Because his mind was ready and willing, even when his body was starting to decline. Today, eMo is at or near his peak physical age, and has stated repeatedly that he is absolutely fine physically with no after effects from his issues over the past couple of years. And yet he has continued to struggle at all major events since return to play. Maybe it’s time for NBA to realize that player mental state is a factor, if not THE factor in determining success or failure at the highest levels, and bring in specialists as Denmark did for VA a few years back, yielding the result you see today.
It's fun that Kento is playing well again. He really let way too many shuttles go that were in and I don't think it was a good idea to lift to VA's forehand corner as much as he did in the start of the third game when VA can smash as well as he can. But nevertheless, it's fun to see him play well again. I wonder if either one of the players will be feeling like playing in France now in two days, they must be incredibly tired.
How terrible that Momota couldnt win the match. He should have won it in 2 games. I believe that Momota plays best vs Axelsen when he doesnt try hard to score points but focuses on long rallies where he has the upper hand slightly.
I think Momota will beat Axelsen the next time and keep beating him. He impressed with his reading and defense of Axelsen’s smashes. He just lost his discipline in keeping up with the long grindy rallies in the second game. I think he just got slightly confused by his tactics. Presumably against other opponents he is told to attack more, but against Axelsen he should just defend 99% of the time. Axelsen isn’t the long term threat to him, this “improved physicality Axelsen” won’t be enough to beat Momota next time if he used the right tactics.
That's only if his damaged body would allow him to play those gruelling rallies like he did back in his heydays. He's a spent force in the 3rd set, I was pretty convinced that Axelsen had virtually tasted sweet victory even before the game ended. Sent from my M2007J20CG using Tapatalk
For me Momota2019 is of the past and Momota2021 is now a player who needs to find his own standing. Therefor Momota reached a 1000 final vs the current gold olympic champion who is most likely in his best shape of his life. VA playing on home soil with cheering fans behind him. Honestly, I thought that VA would steam roll Momota, but I was surprised that he was giving him quite a battle, and he could have finished VA in the second set. Momota2021 played a great tournament and I would see him still as one of the top 10 players which I would not said one week earlier. Tbh, VA is in great shape and there's no shame in losing to him in 3 sets.
Andre Agassi once told after retirement that he could read Boris Becker's serve direction by the side his tongue would drift just before serving. He occassionally had to pretend that he could not read Becker's serve so as to keep Becker honest. Becker told that he had nightmares about Agassi's returning and often he would pause during bedroom pleasures with honey just because Agassi's returning his serves flashed his memory.
Just in case anyone is interested in Momota's take on the match against Axelsen, I have translated a Sponichi Annex article that covers his post-match interview. -- Q. In the first game you pulled through after having trailed behind. In game two you lost points on misjudgments after having been in the lead. Momota: I am always behind in game one, so I was not particularly worried. In the second game, although I sensed a bit of a sideways drift, the shuttles didn't fly as far as expected. I believe that the misjudgments made here were the cause of my defeat. Q. You looked tired in the final game. Momota: Well, I think we both run out of gas. I feel that I was at the losing end of the mental battle. Q. It was a battle between the top two players, the World Champion and Olympic Champion. Momota: It is not only tough playing against him; the matches are rich in content, too. Personally. I felt that I was able to develop. I have been in bad form for so long. Through this tournament I have been able to move on, and hopefully I can make it count in the future. Thank you very much. --
if this past match v axelsen becomes his baseline he is easily back in the top 3: axelsen, momota, lzj. i believe those 3 are playing on a higher level than everyone else at the moment. the most encouraging aspect i noticed was how comfortable momota looked from the semi-final onward. his movement and strokes in the first few points against axelsen looked relaxed. however, i still expected axelsen to win in the range of 21-17/19 in game 1 & 21-13/15 in game 2. mainly because cardio is the hardest to reclaim after an injury layoff. in that sense i expected momota to gas out sooner. seeing how he lasted to mid game 3 in such a brutal match is a huge step in the right direction.
Axelsen is currently on his way to #1. Even for a pro-player he shows an extremely high commitment to improve (relocation to dubai, establishing a training environment, flying back from tournament on private costs to prepare for olympics etc.), so it is just fair that he is the best player and will be the next #1 for some time. Momota needs to play more tournaments now. It is good to see, that his confidence in winning matches improves over the last weeks (surdiman,thomas,denmark). Heo put quite a damper on Momotas confidence and maybe Heo is Momotas nemesis, much like Momota was VA nemesis in recent years.
I expect KM to reach final again in FO, he got a simpler top half draw. First round is literally a walkover he got.
KS may well have one of his better days; you never know. Honestly speaking, I am not sure whether KM will have the stamina.
This is literally KS after every loss very very slim chances though KS will pull it off and I'm sure it'll be due to momota fatigue or momota being so Un Momota and not due to KS being fantastic. Gone are the sunny days of KS. Harsh but true.
