They have matured mentally, which is the biggest and toughest hurdle between a true world champion and a top class player. They used to lose out in very tough matches and would finish as the 2nd best. Now, they have the mental edge to win it all, and the mental toughnest to fight back even when they're trailing. But Cai/Fu are still not matured enough, in terms of the completeness of their game. Their biggest advantages now are their speed and their smashes which are too devastating for other pairs to defend. Other than that, they are not exceptionally well in terms of on court tactics (finding the one empty spot, killing via dropshots and delicate placements, cunningness, dictating the movements of their opponents, controlling the game's pace, court coverage, etc). Fu still commits very clumsy errors every once in a while. But overall, the improvement is there. With the decline of the old Danish pairs, in the near future only KKK/CCM are capable of threatening Cai/Fu.
Ya..i have the same view too..This time is really a waste thet KKK/CCM can't perform and their combination is perfect...Just wait and see in the future...
agree with ccskaki analysis. to add a bit more... Fu/Cai really stumbles when they face opponent who can defend faster than they can smash. Malaysians are historically quick defenders with lightning reflex and tricky placement. once they get a few of Fu/Cai's 300km/h smahes, Fu/Cai gets more and more nervous and don't know what to do. that's why Fu/Cai seems to have problem with Malaysian players in general. Blair/Clark will have to show that they too can answer the relentless machine guns of Fu/Cai, otherwise they will head home with bullet holes in their jerseys and silver medals in their racket bags.
Well, backhand smash is of not much use in Men's Double, compared to all the other events. There are already 2 men players to cover the court, and they both can smash without worrying about how to recover from an awkward smashing posture (as opposed to singles where the player needs to maintain a good balance). Good rotation between the two partners will eliminate the need to smash from the backhand position. In fact, I don't even remember seeing a single backhand smash in yesterday's semifinals between Cai/Fu and JE/MLH. Anthony would have to showcase his backhand smash only in mixed doubles because his partner will try to not have to rotate to the backcourt to help him attack.
And that's why I feel so disappointed with CTF/LWW. They had the good traits of traditional malaysian doubles pairs (good reflexes, natural talents, tricky placement), PLUS having very good physical and attacking ability (only if they were ever committed to using it). They had all the ingredients to excel, but just lack the mental toughness. Such a waste, such a waste.
[Yeah, MAS quote=Jessica]Not to worry..They will be back...They are strong...[/quote] Yeah, MAS just giving chance to CHINA this year. It's their only chance so they better grab it!
So I was wrong to say Madrid would be like Athens! Was I surprised to hear Maria Sharapova-loud Jia You! They must have spent a tidy sum arranging for support.
I am certainly looking forward to the mens singles, Bao Chunlai the chosen one versus the military trained Lin Dan. These 2 were very close at a time and even in the world champs 03 ,bao chunlai was better, who would of thought lin dan would go through to be better and dominate the following years. Eventually they meet each other in world champs. Sure to be a close encounter. Also congrat. to Team England. Their performance hopefully will have caught a few eyes in media and spread badminton around.
Are you watching live? The stats suggest a really low quality match, more than half of the points are produced by unforced errors!
