Of people playing currently, my favorites are Xu Xin, Ma Long and He Zhi Wen. I like watching all three of these guys. He Zhi Wen is not in the same class as the two youngsters but you have to love that a guy who is around 50 years old can play like that because of how smart he is. Ma Long and Xu Xin, I love watching that raw talent. I have read a few people saying that Ma Long does not have flaws in his game. If that was true I probably would not like him as much. His physical talents are amazing but he is a little short on tactics and game skill intelligence. He often gets beaten by people who should not even come close, especially when they have good backhands. Or how Wang Hao out thought him at the Worlds in Rotterdam. I like the fact that with all that power in his forehand, and I love his forehand, he still has things to improve. Xu Xin has different things to work on. He is not consistent enough and he needs to use that reverse penhold backhand more. But I love watching how much ground he can cover and his forehand is beautiful to watch, especially when he is deep on his backhand side. He has amazing athletic abilities.
I love Zhang Jike's backhand, his ability to attack anything short, and his serves. But his overall game is not that graceful.
But for an all time player, my favorite, without any question, is Jan Ove Waldner. That is a complete game, and the most important aspect of that is the intelligence factor. He blocks well, he loops, he attacks, he is creative, he defends well, and when he defends he is looking for an opening to move back on offense and get back up to the table. Very dynamic player.
I also love watching Kong Linghui. He has great style. If anyone wants to see someone who plays like Ma Long but has the elements Ma Long still has not developed, then they should watch Kong Linghui play. All that power with the forehand and a very mature player at an early age.
