While Vlad has clearly leveled up, a reminder from one of their recent meetings that he is exactly rhe kind of player that Truls can lock up if Truls is in form:
Felix Sora winner os the favorite but I give Truls a better chance of beating those guys than Sidorenko because diaryption is important against those guys. Sora is borderline unbeatable if you cannot return his serves but I think Felix has the edge there.
It goes without saying that Sidorenko is a far more complete player than many others from, let’s say, the world’s top 15.
Obviously the guy was derailed by the war. But it is obvious watching him in Fench league (and arguably rven when he won University games) that he is a top 20 player and on par with Gauzy at least, where exactly he ends up is of course a matter of improvement and matchups. The way he annihilates the loose ball is scary, even more threatening sometimes than Hugo and Alexis. Shinozuka did well to fight through it, it just wasn't his day.
He's at 70% at best.
Mmmm, I don’t see Tomo beating Vlad any time soon, for the very simple reason that it’s even harder for Tomo to play against fast left-handers who also happen to be masters at hitting parallel shots. And that’s precisely the sort of thing Tomo doesn’t like, especially not on his forehand. Tactically, he’ll fall short, and given that Vlad has a powerful and fast shot on both his forehand and backhand, Tomo’s going to have to pull a rabbit out of his hat in future.
Not saying you are incorrect but here's the current Top 15:
I guess we will see about Harimoto when that rematch comes. Sidorenko has been getting more than his fair share of breaks - will see if this continues.Mmmm, I don’t see Tomo beating Vlad any time soon, for the very simple reason that it’s even harder for Tomo to play against fast left-handers who also happen to be masters at hitting parallel shots. And that’s precisely the sort of thing Tomo doesn’t like, especially not on his forehand. Tactically, he’ll fall short, and given that Vlad has a powerful and fast shot on both his forehand and backhand, Tomo’s going to have to pull a rabbit out of his hat in future.
I’m also curious to see if Vlad will manage to beat Truls this time. It’s going to be a great match either way, featuring two of the most well-rounded players, both technically and tactically. Still, I’m putting my money on Vlad, given that he’s left-handed...
I was talking about his mental game. He blew a 10-6 lead in game 2, made a string of unforced errors and finally, pay attention to the body language and facial expressions when things aren't going his way. This part is pretty self-explanatory.
Custom Diode/Joo Se Hyuk, Zyre 03, Curl P1V (1.0mm). The only reason I know the thickness of her long pips is because World TT said her backhand rubber at the All Japan was 極薄 (very thin) this year, where as last year it was 中 (medium), and 0.5 is usually referred to as 超極薄 (ultra thin). She switched to Zyre from Dignics 09c a couple of months ago.
Judging by what I’ve seen of him recently (and this week), I can definitely see him becoming a top-five player.
he's a pretty solid player, strong mental, comprehensive technique close to the table, but right now he's in the dark horse phase, others don't have enough material to study his game throughout yet. But I'm expecting a stable top 20-30 in the near future
Well that's half an answer I suppose 😉
Miwa had problems beating choppers (mostly due to young age and taking on multiple events) and therefore has also taken advantage of the expedite rule to beat Hashimoto fairly recently. OTOH, Hashimoto has been poor at adapting to the expedite rule, which I first noticed after she lost 2-4 to HZJ in the WS F of WTT FEE ESS 2022 (where I actually projected the expedite rule would've broken the stalemate in Hashimoto's favor and pongfugrasshopper should remember that). Sato also lost to HZJ by expedite rule at WTT CT Almaty 2025. Unless they work something out, it will only end up the same in the foreseeable future.
I believe he can hold his own against anyone in the top 15 and would say he’s consistently ranked between 10th and 15th. Provided he secures some key tournament victories (perhaps as early as today) in the future, I therefore see him as a potential top-5 player. Nor should we forget that he only narrowly lost to Lin S this year after (mainly) two silly unforced errors at 8-8. There’s certainly a lot of potential in that young man!
