My preview (which will probably turn out to not be true, but whatever
):
First quarter of the men's draw shows an interesting mix of young and old players. Unlike Xu Xin who I think will cruise to the quarters easily, Ma Lin has a tough draw. He will first have a rematch with Kenta Matsudaira, and then Lee Sang Su. Both players can be a real challenge when they have a good day. And then, already in the 4th round it is Samsonov. Now he has been playing very well against Chinese players lately and I think that of all the black horses, Samsonov has the best chances to reach the semis. Remember, he beat Xu Xin at the World Cup.
Second quarter... Hmm, I don't see a lot of potential here. Ovtcharov should easily reach the quarters but he won't beat Zhang Jike. Unless Fan Zhendong decides to finish Zhang Jike for low-motivation-play, I don't expect anything special in this part of the draw.
Third quarter: Now I really liked Chuang's topform of the last months but his road to the semis seems impossible to me. Yan An and then Wang Hao is just too much. Adrien Mattenet... I hope he can show some cool matches and enjoy the crowd including his match against Wang Hao, but he won't get any further than that.
Fourth quarter: Now this shows some awesome potential matches. Boll-Mizutani, Steger-Tokic, Ma Long-Koki Niwa... and the quarter final might be even better. Ma Long of course has the best papers here but his nerves just might show up again when he faces Koki Niwa or Boll.
Ma Long is still my favorite for the men's title.
For the Women's draw I'll keep it simple...
I expect all-Chinese semi finals, Ding Ning and Li Xiaoxia (who will beat Wu Yang, but Chen Meng could be hard) in the first semi final. Zhu Yuling (Feng Tianwei already lost twice to her) and Liu Shiwen in the second one. Liu Shiwen has the easiest way to the finals and I also think she is the best female player right now so I expect her to win.
