DAN PLAYS SECOND MATCH! | TableTennisDaily Team | Ep 11

Hey Dan

I really like what you build up. The team is really pleasant, funny but also ambitious.
It's very funny how the teammates are laughing their asses of while one is fighting till the very end

I suggested my team to establish also "Donkey of the Day"

Why is using pocket rocket harimoto?

Thats very interesting question! Pls Dan ask pocket rocket to compare Timo Boll ALC with Harimot ALC. I think you can block better and take more control.

I wished Pocket and Moses went to the fifth great game

Another great episode!
The Pocket Rocket just got too emotional With his great drop shots he could've made it much harder for Moses..
But you know - the Ringer! It takes a lot to come back after losing 2:0 and still feeling not very comfortable after injury! If you've had one - you'd know that even if you think you're OK your subconscious doesn't allow you to do you best. And to break through this in such an important moment is a proof of great fighting character!

Pocket also didn't try to slow play the other guy much. Now, I don't know if Moses is good at that type or not.. but neither does the PR! The counters Moses did were generally off of long balls that went too slow or too far off the table. Instead of trying to loop him away at a distance, just play short pushes and such waiting for a kill shot and if not finishing it there, resetting. Maybe moses didn't have the footwork or speed to pivot at the table. As it stood, he was allowed to stand a comfortable distance from the table and didn't have to move all that much.

Basically pocket was the aggressor 95% of the time... what would have happened if he forced moses to open first, or engage in a game of pushes and blocks? But people have their style, and they enjoy sticking to them! One of the reasons why I love chopping against a stubborn attacker!

NextLevel said:

When does the lockdown affect you guys? When were the matches filmed and how many more episodes can we expect before we fully get depressed by a lack of new table tennis from the TTD squad?

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According to the National League A it should be two more matches that happened before the lockdown.

Der_Echte said:

Man, Pocket got the RAMBO BLOOD LUST KILL syndrome way too bad too often. The few times he attempted a drop shot, even if it wasn't double bounce, made dude move to the table, often with good results. Pockets smashes were to places dude had only to reach or one step.

Pocket took too much risk needlessly. Pocket has the touch to move guy in and the spin to make him pop it up and the power to finish if he creates angles... but pocket got lured like a fish into pounding the ball to mostly same or predictable spot. He knows it and like Rambo, hard to overcome nature. Pocket gunna get it soon enough when players bait him.

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Moses is a very good player, so I don't think it is that straightforward. That said, the one thing I have found consistent with most players who default to a lobbing style is that they almost never play close the table forehand counterloops. So I am a big fan of spinning with heavy topspin to the short or wide forehand against these players and then starting the point from there. This keeps them close to the table before they can get back and set up defences. Looking at Moses he had issues covering the wide forehand but Pocket Rocket seems to default to playing cross court balls or pinning people to the wide backhand. Usually the standard strategy to play attackers who are fishing is to avoid going to their forehand but here it might have been a mistake.

Of course Moses is handy, he showed Pocket twice. I still believe Pocket Rocket would have been a lot better off touching the ball back more to the FH corner, whether it was double bounce or not. That would have brought Moses in, made him work a lot more, and been a lot less risk, plus opens up attacking possibilities. I would be inclined to go heavy spin as well once he is brought in. Still, I would be trying to get Moses to stop being comfy back there. Drop shot, heavy spin, loop kill away is one workable pattern when Moses stays back there. Pocket showed an ability to do that... and do that well, he should have done it some more to change how Moses was playing.

James Theriault over here plays a lot like that except he actually lobs instead of high fishes.

Great match TTD Team!