This is the battle of two toughest minds. Even at the end of the last game, their mental strengh is still as hard as steel. no mistakes nor passive play.
good job ttlonden and ittf with this video 😀 i really love the HD and these new camera angles! and pls shiw us more vidros that are -/+ 14min. keep up the good work!
For sure he will... But hey, let's say Ma Long throws out a serve on a 10-10 count, and starts to get jumpy... Then Fan sees it and starts mining him, outpowering him un the immediate rallies... I think he has an honest shot man... Call me crazy...
So sad for me as Xu Xin fan. This was third international lost to Fan in a row. Another 3 straight lost in league, so clearly Ma Long, Zhang Jike and Fan all three are now better than Xu Xin and he has like 0% chance to get to Olympics...
+DuchDoby Don't worry, he has still has a small chance, with the WTTC 2016 and the World Tour next year. Zhang isn't better than him right now, but Ma is definitely better. It looks as if Fan is better, but he and Xu always go to 6-7 really close games.
+Sam Linder Very small chance. Zhang is Grand Slam champ, Ma Long is dominant world number one and world champion and Fan is only 18 but beating him regulary...
4 times in a row Zhendong win over Xin... Hum...interesting. Time will tell if he overcomes Xin for real or if it's just a bad time for XIn, which seems to be IMO.
Again Adam Bobrow is stating the obvious. An amateur would have known most of the terms but Adam just merely reports it over again. As a spectator who plays leisurely I really want commentary to understand the play, variety of spins (seriously this is lacking), placement of ball, strategies, and even psychology. Believe it or not, in depth commentary (more than just stating what is happening) will improve table tennis in all levels as a whole because watch top players play not only for entertainment, but for emulating. Adam must improve if not ITTF must find elsewhere.
+Christian Habis Ma, Fan, and Zhang really take advantage of the fact the Xu loves to step around and use his forehand on every shot. Check out Zhang vs. Xu at the 2013 WTTC and his last match vs. Samsonov to see this in full detail.
+Christian Habis Unlike most successful penhold players came before him, Xu Xin does not have a dominantly aggressive close-to-table game (not yet) and plays with a noticeably slower pace. This puts a lot more stress to his rallying ability. While having arguably the best forehand in the game today, his backhand simply cannot produce the kind of quality shots, or even steady defence that he needs. So when he plays against the few people who can return his forehand shots to his backhand, even without much quality, he struggles. When he plays speed based players like Ma and Fan, I sometimes don't even want to watch.
+Christian Habis Don't forget Xin had a crazy record over Zhendong before October... Zhendong did well only last two month, it means nothing for a so short period. Let's see in a year or so, it's a lot too short to pretend anything.
+Raphaël 無駄無駄無駄 So I was trying to say that Fan is not necessarily a better player than Xu yet, it's just that there are some style mismatch when he plays Fan and Ma Long. What is the point you are trying to make?
I used to think Xu xin is better than Fan Zhendong. But after watching this match, I'm convinced that Fan Zhendong's power and skills already surpassed Xu xin by miles. Xu xin still doesn't have a good backhand.