German Open 2018

[Garrison]

Things getting interesting on table 1

 

[Rwisniewski]

XX is getting angry right now

 

[TTFrenzy]

rofl with the equipment comments. the top chinese win because they have overall more complete technique footwork and stroke linkage. And of course they are more experienced in service/receive and opening phase since they practice more even in theoretical level.

gauyzy giving a real hard time to XX which kinda shows that equipment has zero to insignificant importance. if that was the case timo wouldnt win as well as dima in 2017

 

[jawien]

From the podcasts and interviews, I get the impression that they have made zero attempt. It's not just for technique and equipment that they think China has an advantage. I've heard multiple times that they feel CNT players are physically stronger than them.

Too bad, Simon had a chance ...

Yep .. the rubber, technique and more athletic, so what is left: Enigmatic feeling, JO like blocking, placement ... don't seem to be much enough.

 

[drunix80]

Can captain long prevail against evergreen Boll ?? It should be a great match . I am hoping for a 4:2 victory for ML.

 

[NextLevel]

Can captain long prevail against evergreen Boll ?? It should be a great match . I am hoping for a 4:2 victory for ML.

This is Timo's best chance (on home soil) and I don't think it is going to happen. Its one of those rare occasions that i dont want it to happen either. I miss seeing the Captain and i want all these silly comments about thr new world rankings to reduce a bit and they won't if Ma Long doesn't win the stuff he plays in.

 

[zeio]

There're two sides to a coin, though.

ML said he decided to fix up his backhand after losing ZJK in the final at World Cup 2014. Changing to H3 on the backhand is said to force him to break his habit of borrowing power from the opponent, since tacky rubbers make you work for your shots.

OTOH, FZD changed his blade and lost to DO at the German Open 2017. Wu Jingping said that looking for excuses and solutions from equipment is unrealistic. Picking equipment that fits your style should be the priority, and that T05 works better for his technical trait.

 

[zeio]

Too bad, Simon had a chance ...

Yep .. the rubber, technique and more athletic, so what is left: Enigmatic feeling, JO like blocking, placement ... don't seem to be much enough.

In that match, it appears to me Simon ran out of gas after taking the first 2 games. He played Gatien-aggressive to compensate for his technique and like his predecessor, his body couldn't keep up.

All in all, he played great. I saw the desire in his eyes. That's a good start.

 

[jawien]

There're two sides to a coin, though [...]

@FZD is currently playing Infinity or ALC just with the Infinity's handle? What was the blade he switched to?

I mean T05 for bh is fine. When it starts to be problematic for me, is T05 on the fh in general. The throw angle is too high for the fh (imho), and it hinders the physicality of the stroke.

 

[zeio]

Both all-wood and ALC have been seen.

The ALC is pretty certain to be Viscaria, but not sure for the all-wood.

 

[Garrison]

Timo will win! Captain Ma has to wait longer for his great come back

 

[jawien]

The "overrated" Wong Chun Ting, hmm ...
; )

 

[zeio]

Here comes the final, folks.

 

[Garrison]

Bit of magic is starting to sparkle in the room

 

[TTHopeful]

Is the semi today or tomorrow?

 

[jawien]

Tomorrow, remember the time change in Germany.

 

[v100ev]

What the hell is Timo's coach thinking? Leading 9:4, then 9:7, 9:8 and no timeout! Even when it's clear that Ma Long's BH serve causes problems..

 

[Garrison]

It's all the plan boys. Timo realized at 9-4 that he needs to be 1-3 down to Ma Long in order to win

 

[NextLevel]

What the hell is Timo's coach thinking? Leading 9:4, then 9:7, 9:8 and no timeout! Even when it's clear that Ma Long's BH serve causes problems..

What would you have told Timo to do? No point using the timeout if you have nothing to say.

 

[jawien]

What would you have told Timo to do? No point using the timeout if you have nothing to say.

Even if you have nothing to say, you'll give your player some time to calm down and recover, and break opponent's rhythm.