Ma Long

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Jun 2011
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Ma Long is my new favorite player. Probably because he's got what I haven't - an awesome forehand. I dare say he has the most powerful forehand in the world. I've never seen a player come back with his backswing as far as he does, and he doesn't lose any speed on account of it, either! I think he's also one of the best when it comes to a counter-looping rally away from the table in which he rarely misses. Also, his backhand isn't too shabby. And if he continues to play as well as he is now (9/30/11) - fresh from winning the Austrian and China Opens - he should overtake Wang Hao as world #1 again.
 
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says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
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Dec 2010
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He needs about 60 points to overtake Wang Hao. We will see how many points he will get for winning the Austrian Open. But it looks like Zhang Jike should move past Timo into 3rd place since he got to the finals and is only 8 points behind Timo.

Ma Long is playing great though. It looks like it won't be long before he takes back the #1 spot.
 
New rivalry? Ma Long and Wang Hao? Just like Ma lin and Wang Liqin
The Ma Long- Wang Hao rivalry was a long time ago. I think it's going to be reborned after the ma long-zhang jike rivalry :)
 
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Ma Long is my new favorite player. Probably because he's got what I haven't - an awesome forehand. I dare say he has the most powerful forehand in the world. I've never seen a player come back with his backswing as far as he does, and he doesn't lose any speed on account of it, either! I think he's also one of the best when it comes to a counter-looping rally away from the table in which he rarely misses. Also, his backhand isn't too shabby. And if he continues to play as well as he is now (9/30/11) - fresh from winning the Austrian and China Opens - he should overtake Wang Hao as world #1 again.

The Chinese style loop relies on leg power and a longer extended swing. It's simply physics. With a longer swing you're able to put more energy into the ball. Think of it like a pendulum, the longer the arm on a pendulum the faster and more centripetal force there is at the base. So in looping to put more spin and speed on the ball and to transfer the most amount of energy into the ball from your legs you need to lift your body up off the ground nearly 100% of the time and have a longer swing.

@ Others - Don't forget that Wang Hao has come off of injury within the last year or so as well. With his new serves and now that he's lost the weight he gained while on leave he'll be back and running in the next 3-6 months as well. I feel a Zhang Jike, Ma Long, and Wang Hao Triage coming along rather than a duel rivalry.
 
says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
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Super Moderator
Dec 2010
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17,686
54,748
Read 11 reviews
I feel Ma Long has a rivalry with Xu Xin and Zhang Jike has a rivalry with Wang Hao

I would say the rivalry is between Ma Long and Zhang Jike still because so many people think Ma Long is really the best and has just choked and therefore did not get to the finals in the WTTC in 2011 and 2013. And so, they think that, even though Ma Long did not win WTTC, and Zhang Jike did, that Ma Long is better than Zhang Jike.

The result is that Ma Long fans want to see Ma Long face Zhang Jike and Zhang Jike fans want to see Ma Long face Zhang Jike. Nobody cares if they see Ma Long vs Xu Xin or Zhang Jike vs Wang Hao, because, in the bigger tournaments, that usually goes the same way. Ma Long beats Xu Xin most of the time and Zhang Jike beats Wang Hao most of the time.

Now, even though Ma Long has a better record in head to head competition against Zhang Jike, Zhang Jike has two WTTC titles and and Olympic Gold Medal for singles and Ma Long does not. And, the last time they went head to head in a World Tour tournament, Zhang Jike spanked Ma Long 4-1 losing only the opening game. And everyone knows that Zhang Jike is a notoriously slow starter in matches.
 
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