Post videos of yourself playing

Hmm yeah especially in my backhand corner, right? I actually thought I could smash more (overall) than I did, as I think the success rate was fairly decent other than one or two rallies in the first game where I went for too many round the head. That is what you meant, isn't it?

I like playing varied drop shots, but theyre not as effective when I dont push the opponent back with the threat of smashes and they can adjust their position forwards to deal with them.
Also, the error rate on pushed returns to the back court is unacceptable. Dont ask me why that happened, never had that problem in training. :S

 

I seriously wonder why you always say that doubles is your preferred/better discipline. I really like your singles game and I would say your performance level is at least equal to doubles.

One minor thing I noticed - while you are targeting the corners very nicely and with good variation, you seem to ignore/avoid completely one big area of the court: the middle. I haven't seen one attacking clear straight down the middle or a dead center netshot.

I think it was kwun or Cheung who mentioned a couple of months ago to always challenge your opponent in all areas of the court, including the center. And I found that so many "mortal level" players have massive issues with their movements and hitting motions in that area. Even if they move well to the corners, they seem to be totally stunned if the shuttle comes directly to the middle. As a side effect, you limit their possible shot angles a lot which might help to defuse opponents with tightly placed dropshots. And a lot of times they seem to be totally clueless about how to apply pressure on you if you present them with a decent netshot or fast drop to the middle.

 

I like to be able to end rallies Whether that's with a smash or with a drop shot, I don't really care about, but with my strengths and weaknesses it's usually a drop shot rather than a smash

First of all, thank you kindly - I've been training more singles over the last weeks and months, not just to be able to play it competitively again but also for the fun of it, as I have been enjoying it more and more. The pace is different and I can, for the lack of a better word, torture myself better (=mich quälen ) While it's not really fun when you really suffer in/after a rally, the feeling of having given it your all a couple minutes after the match is quite to my liking

Interesting point about shots to the middle. I've seen LD play net shots or blocks to the middle in order to cut down angles to the back, but I've yet to do that properly myself. I also need to work on my crosscourt net shots, they've been lacking and that's probably why I don't really feel that confident in using them in a match - although that's only partly a conscious decision. It's often just not an option I see during the rally.
I'll see whether I can edit and upload the footage of my third match, which may be interesting to compare this to. If I do get around to it, be warned, I sustained a small injury in the first game, so the second is probably not hugely enjoyable to watch

 

I know exactly what you mean with torture. Once you start playing singles regularly it gets kind of addictive. I've focused more on singles for about 2 years now and I've reached a point at which I feel really bad after a doubles-only session. Hard to describe it, but singles feel more like an adventure which you need to survive on your own. And hands down, if you want to build up stamina and improve your overall performance shot wise, there is nothing better than playing singles.

Regarding shots to the middle, it felt somehow strange in the beginning since it feels like you are playing the shuttle exactly into the arms of your waiting opponent.

 

Interesting you say that. In the first game especially I thought j4ackie's variation of shot from the front court was pretty limited, notably from the f/h side 90% was shallow straight lift.

b/h rear court shots looking very nice!

 

Yep, I think I you played really poor in the first few rallies but then you stepped up to the occassion and proved you are class above the rest. Well done...Bravo.! Do they call you Fu Haifeng of your group ?

 

If you get hit in the body by my smash (from the back of the court), two things are true: a) youre slow. b) it didnt hurt you.

 

But do you try to copy Axelsen's game?

 

No. I play mostly what feels natural to me and try to slowly erase (or at least strengthen) my weaknesses and adapt my game a bit to my natural strengths. Just so happens that both Axelsen and I are tall and like to play angled attacking shots and have a risky style of play

 

3rd match from the same tournament. If I look hesitant or slow in the second game, it's because I slightly injured my hip in the first (you can see my reaction after the rally). Not a huge thing, but it really distracted me as I was asking myself whether I should continue or not, and whether I would be able to play doubles the next day (I did not, not wanting to risk aggravating it and maybe causing serious issues).

(Middle court, I'm wearing the black sleeveless shirt )

 

Some 'benchmark' singles games to see how far I've declined, and to check my progress after what will hopefully be my final hip op on Tuesday!

It's a real mixed bag - some howler mishits, some indecision over footwork and grip, but also some really nice shots and some lucky ones. I even played it up a bit for the camera

I'm the guy in blue shorts.

G3 cut short due to time. Funny/lucky rally at 5:25

(still uploading... now done.)

 

The little girl will beat you!

- you can attack enemies low-service much more agressive and faster

 

I noticed you have a few tendencies - for example, out of your deep forehand corner, you play the overwhelming majority of shots longline. Most of those are smashes with some drops mixed in, few clears. Especially when your opponent turned and played a high backhand clear, you were kind enough to reply with a straight smash 90% of the time, and he was ready for it. Play the same corner twice, or play drop shots - did you see him move? Every time he had to dig out a drop shot he was uncomfortable, and late...
Also, you dont quite seem to have your rhythm down/back. You were not ready a couple of times when he played your shot, often on clears - so either you need to play those a bit higher/longer, especially when you're a bit in trouble, or you need to return to your base position more quickly.
Could've had a much easier time if you'd let him run more, and attacked more towards the body instead of the longline side Especially towards the racket shoulder or chest. Tall guys always have problems defending those areas, and he really doesn't look nimble or particularly coordinated
A more general technical thing is that you tend to play your round-the-head backhand with your upper body fairly stiff and facing straight forward, with little rotation. Pulling your racket shoulder back more when moving into the corner should make your footwork more effective and have the additional benefit of allowing you to rotate your body into the shot more. Look at Tai Tzu Ying or Ratchanok Inthanon for great examples on that, generally superb players to watch if you want to improve technique and footwork.

 

Cheers Jackie. Think you've mentioned the rth thing before. The ready part is something I've noticed a bit, but definitely a couple in these clips is just because I thought my shot was going out. I had a problem with length all night.

Pre ops I would have been playing a lot more cross court shots. It's been hard to build up the accuracy and consistency on them, plus I've only just repaired enough court speed to be able to recover from my own cross court shots XD. I've kind of forgotten they exist now lol

Sent from my ONE E1001 using Tapatalk

 

That little girl in the background must be 5 or 6 yrs old? She's impressive! Getting some good crisp sounds from her shots.

Which reminds me, amleto, you and your opponent somehow don't seem to have enough sharp crisp sounds on strike?

 

Dunno about that. It sounds a lot different when playing. We also use zy65 which isn't exactly renowned for its sound.

 

Me me me. I like that too Cheung!