WTT Champions Frankfurt 2026, November 3-8

says Shoo...nothing to see here. - zeio
says Shoo...nothing to see here. - zeio
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Franziska WR18 2-4 Harimoto WR3 (2) (2, -9, 11, -8, -4, -4)

I would go back and figure out the reason behind dropping G3 after holding 6 game points. Could've tried taking some of those half-long/kick serves with the FH with unwavering resolve. Can't afford to let that happen again at LA28 after Paris 2024.

Despite coming up short in 2 back-to-back finals, Franziska for LA28!
 
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Congratulations to the Champions of WTT Champions Frankfurt. They played amazing as did the finalists/semi-finalists.

HWn9OF_WkAAQmL_

HWnqjdHXoAEUFtZ
 
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Heartbreaker for Patrick who had a Cinderella run and was unplayable vs. Sora. But congratulations for Japan's TT samurai. It's Japan's day .... , Hina and Tomo.
Time for them to reunite for mixed doubles.
 
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I love both Harimoto and Patrick, but I can't help but feel that playing 2 games in one day favours the younger player. Like Patrick had to play points so hard to get them on the board against Tomo, that it being his second game of the day I don't even think it's possible for unc to have enough energy to beat someone like Harimoto. I get why it is but he looked so tired in his last 2 sets that I feel bad. Not to discount Tomo though, he played great!
 
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Patrick was looks very tired
I’d already written that last week during the final in Montpellier.
Reaching two consecutive finals really gets under your skin.
 
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I love both Harimoto and Patrick, but I can't help but feel that playing 2 games in one day favours the younger player. Like Patrick had to play points so hard to get them on the board against Tomo, that it being his second game of the day I don't even think it's possible for unc to have enough energy to beat someone like Harimoto. I get why it is but he looked so tired in his last 2 sets that I feel bad. Not to discount Tomo though, he played great!
It used to be just the finals on the last day, but they cut down the tournament by one day since last year. Don't remember if they did that to all the Champions ones.
 
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I love both Harimoto and Patrick, but I can't help but feel that playing 2 games in one day favours the younger player. Like Patrick had to play points so hard to get them on the board against Tomo, that it being his second game of the day I don't even think it's possible for unc to have enough energy to beat someone like Harimoto. I get why it is but he looked so tired in his last 2 sets that I feel bad. Not to discount Tomo though, he played great!
Not just age but size. Being as big as Patrick gives you power but it also takes a ton of energy to move that frame around, Harimoto was gracious enough to point out that he didn't understand how Patrick could play so well in consecutive weeks. Lots of matches went the distance as well. Harimoto lost his first match in Montpellier so he was fresh for this event.

Franziska must have qualified for Finals by now hopefully he can get some rest and get ready, he has put himself back in the crowded race for German #1 by performing at the table.
 
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It used to be just the finals on the last day, but they cut down the tournament by one day since last year. Don't remember if they did that to all the Champions ones.
makes tonnes of sense financially, it cuts an extra day of venue costs, (a day with only half the sellable seats of a normal tournament day as there would be only 1 session) but definetley sucks for the players :(.

Not just age but size. Being as big as Patrick gives you power but it also takes a ton of energy to move that frame around
Yea absolutely, i can't imagine how exhausting just a single 8 point shoot out would be let alone a whole game going the distance!
 
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I love both Harimoto and Patrick, but I can't help but feel that playing 2 games in one day favours the younger player. Like Patrick had to play points so hard to get them on the board against Tomo, that it being his second game of the day I don't even think it's possible for unc to have enough energy to beat someone like Harimoto. I get why it is but he looked so tired in his last 2 sets that I feel bad. Not to discount Tomo though, he played great!
I think 2 games in one day is okay for the Semis and Finals if the schedule isn't so packed with 2 Champions events back to back like that.

I'd like to see at least 2 weeks between the end of one big event and the start of the next.
 
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I think 2 games in one day is okay for the Semis and Finals if the schedule isn't so packed with 2 Champions events back to back like that.

I'd like to see at least 2 weeks between the end of one big event and the start of the next.
Not sure how practical that is given travel and jet lag but it is all food for thought.
 
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Watching the women's final I'm just following in my head an imaginary situation in which Hayata does make it to LA's women's singles' final against SYS and that's the only time in her whole career she beats her.
It has happened before (Ryu Seung Min with Wang Hao) and I wonder what would @zeio say then.
I bet you Wang Hao still has nightmares about that final and would gladly trade all his wins with RSM to get only that one.
I wouldn't pick her for any team final against Team China. She's basically a free rubber for Chinese players. She's good against other teams and against her own teammates, but she always fails to perform against the best.
 
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I wouldn't pick her for any team final against Team China. She's basically a free rubber for Chinese players. She's good against other teams and against her own teammates, but she always fails to perform against the best.
So who is performing against the best? Who has the medals that Hina Hayata doesn't have? Curious.
 
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So who is performing against the best? Who has the medals that Hina Hayata doesn't have? Curious.
Hayata's career head-to-head record against the 2 best Chinese players:

Vs SYS: 0 wins, 22 losses

Vs WMY: 0 wins, 13 losses

It would be madness to keep playing her in a team final against China with results like these.

The likes of Harimoto, Sato, Hashimoto and Odo have picked up at least one or more win against the 2 best Chinese players.
Not to mention, Sato, Hashimoto and Harimoto would be favourites to beat players like CY, KM and WYD. Hayata would be the underdog against the above mentoned 3 second-string Chinese players.
 
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Hayata's career head-to-head record against the 2 best Chinese players:

Vs SYS: 0 wins, 22 losses

Vs WMY: 0 wins, 13 losses

It would be madness to keep playing her in a team final against China with results like these.

The likes of Harimoto, Sato, Hashimoto and Odo have picked up at least one or more win against the 2 best Chinese players.
Not to mention, Sato, Hashimoto and Harimoto would be favourites to beat players like CY, KM and WYD. Hayata would be the underdog against the above mentoned 3 second-string Chinese players.
No. It would be madness to field players who have not consistently proven themselves over the best (or second best) player in your team who has consistently proven herself unless she herself ultimately admits she has given up on addressing her problems. It is okay to pretend that because the Chinese have faced Hina Hayata often enough to be naturally prepared for her that she is worse than she objectively is. But the reality is that if you threaten the Chinese enough, they will prepare for you better, your wins evaporate, and then you are back to square one.

So these players who have beaten the Chinese, why are they not ranked higher than Hina Hayata? When Hina Hayata beat Kuai Man in Frankfurt, or when Chen Yi demolished Sato or whem Kuai Man beat Hashimoto, you went oddly silent. I keep reminding you of the example of Ding Ning, who lost to Wu Yang and Sato in random matches but never lost to choppers in big major matches. Stop looking for easy answers to hard problems, these are largely quick fixes ehose effectiveness will be closed if they are deployed consistently.

Jun Mizutani never beat Ma Long or Zhang Jike. What is happening here is that Hayata has been so good for so long that she has consistently gotten to rounds of events only to lose to the two of the greatest Chinese players of all time, usually at stages in an event where they are optimally prepared to face her. The other players are able to surprise the Japanese at random stages/times, but this will not last once they are also targeted.

Finally, there are lots of other teams with players who play choppers decently with sufficient practice, especially Korea. Beware of what happens when you make it clear you are banking on choppers.
 
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