Imagine , if Sung had lost this set, she would be shattered. Congratulations to Sung JH. Her first SS title is esp sweet because she beat three CHN players en route to the title.
Overall, as most here will say, WSX got WAY too drop happy. That was probably her down fall. She eventually started cutting even the flat clears out and played more drops and more drops.
When WSX pulled up to 20-all, she failed to capitalize on it by being more aggressive to keep Sung on the defensive instead of just playing safe and hoping for her opponent to make the mistakes.
Yeah, old habits die hard. At crucial moments she naturally reverts back to her 'old,usual' style of play.
Congrats to Sung JH. But seriously, this tournament was a rather weak one. Wang Yihan and Li Xuerui both mysteriously retired in the first round. It's like Djokovic and Federer both retiring in the first round of the upcoming Australian Open and Murray winning it (with Nadal injured and not playing of course). It really makes the tournament a bit of a "dud" one. Same goes for the Mens Singles, although LCW has a high chance of losing to yet another Chinese player (again). Also Gillian Clark keeps raving on about Sung JH being a upcoming star etc. She always does that, and they turn out to do nothing for the rest of their careers.
Overall, a successful day for Korea, two titles in the bag, both convincingly and undisputable Both winners deserved their wins
Other than her the obvious weakness, WSX was also troubled by her inner garment and sleeve which she kept adjusting. She should wear sleeveless tops so that she can focus on the game.
After their match yesterday against KKK/TBH, and today against Boa/Mogensen, I am dead convinced that LYD/KSH are nearly at their peak of their powers now. And there's only one pair in the world who can match them now- the legendary "Fung Wan" pair.
I was trying to root and cheer for WSX all the way till end of the match. It's her fourth time in the final and the best chance to start the year with a Premier title. Watching her game today really tells that I cannot suffer this much any longer. The way she is playing is bound to lose to any player who has greater stamina, reach and attacking abilities. Looks like she is on her way out of the National Team probably after the World Championship in Guangzhou finished.
That would never happen if all China players were playing seriously. After all this time, only Korean Men's Doubles and LCW can beat China. And LCW is not far from 31 years of age. Hopefully Korea can fix their weak Mens Singles line-up in the next few years - once LCW and LD retire (TH and PG are of course retired or retiring in the next few weeks), there shouldn't be any excuse.
Sung JH is an upcoming star actually, and I don't quite understand where you get the confidence to state such an ignorant remark about Clark and Sung JH. She's young and she's already beaten Chinese players many times, can't ask for anything better than that to call her an 'upcoming star'. I do however, agree with you that WS and MS had a weaker showing. But that's sport. It doesn't take anything away from the title of Champion. Perhaps at the Olympics maybe, but certainly not in a super series. We still had quality players like WSX, SJH and Saina Nehwal in the draw. (Nehwal is playing horribly these days, so I don't know whether you want to label her performance as a 'dud' or not.) It's a shame when players like CL, LD, LX, WY pull out, but that's life.
Well actually I seem to remember a certain number of Wangs who were playing quite seriously losing to Korean WS over the past few years
The fact that the top China players all pulled out in the first round made this tournament a bit of a nothing one. Just what I feel personally. The thing is that in tennis, you'd never see this happening. The top players are all capable of reaching at least the quarter-finals - and that's several hundred thousand dollars to be had. Seriously, if badminton tournaments paid half as much, we wouldn't see such mysterious pulling out.
Wang Shixian failed to live up to the Chinese expectations. If the rumours are true, she should by right be kicked out of the national team after allowing too many players to catch up with the head to head record. Such one-dimensional game is intolerable to the Chinese standard.
