Not sure if you folks could see Taufik's game on the Internet, but if you couldn't, Taufik came out smashing and playing serious against Simon from the very first set. I guess Taufik knew it would be an uphill battle against Simon from the outset. Unfortunately, Taufik's lack of fitness ultimately lead to his downfall.
It was the same story against Yi Lu yesterday. Taufik was out of gas in the third set. Lucky for Taufik, Li Yu has no power on his smash and could not finish Taufik and Taufik scraped by in the tie breaker in the 3rd set. Taufik got a huge break at 20-20 when he hit the tape with the shuttle, the shuttle somehow rolled over the net, and it landed just inside the line.
Not counting Lin Dan, LCW, and Peter Gade, Taufik truly has the top 4 skills in the world with his racket. But as good as Taufik's racket skills are, it doesn't matter if he is slow and unfit. Peter Gade is still a top 4 player in the world at 34 - there is no excuse for Taufik''s fitness at his age. If Taufik isn't serious for the Olympics next year, he really should retire - it's an eyesore to watch all that talent wasted because of a lack of motivation.