2016 YONEX German Open : QUALIFICATION to FINALS

I'd be very surprised if LD hit more winners than CTC. Also, I didn't see the 2nd game, but in the 3rd, most points were won off errors, with CTC sometimes deeming the point won too early...

 

Victor seems to have problems with his right foot/leg though, I saw him shake it all the time in his match against the Japanese youngster (forgot his name). Very error prone and lacking commitment, untypical of him. However he is still young - he might be fully recovered in time for the AE, who knows.
I think the last back-to-back tournament winner should be Chen Long...? Were the Korea and Denmark Open back to back last year? He won both...or did you mean tournament wins in conscutive weeks? That would probably be LCW some years ago, although it's rare for tournaments to be scheduled that closely.
The reason the German Open are that popular for a GPG event is that they allow athletes to come to Europe a week earlier and get rid of any jet lag to perform their best at the AE.
Others choose to save their energy for that one tournament, namely LCW and most of the Japanese MS players...

 

In 2013 when LD won the WC and in 2014 until after the Asian Games when he injured himself, Lin Dan was playing at the same level as any of his archrivals, Chen Long, Lee CW, and anybody you like - it showed in their individual encounters ( a simple check of the results would disabuse you of it).

At most you could say in 2015 that LD fell below them somewhat, or quite a bit, if you like. To say that CL, LCW or even KM would 'blast' LD off is surely an exaggeration, j4ckie. You don't supposed JOJ, CTC, and SWH are much weaker than the aforementioned, do you ?

In any case, what's the point of such theoretical argument and subjective views ? In the months ahead, Lin Dan will give us the ultimate answer. Let's wait for it, coming soon.

 

Yes, back-to-back means consecutive weeks, no one-week break in-between as that would mean the finalists of the first tournament is fully rested before the start of the second one, travelling time immaterial.

 

So his results in the French, Denmark, Korea, Taipei, Indonesia, India and Australian Open as well as the WC were not sub-par to you? I looked it up. He had a sizeable number of easy wins and lost many matches against the first real opponent...and while neither CL nor LCW dominated the circuit, they didnt have a negative H2H against Tommy Sugiarto (just an example). Apart from his confidence crisis, LCW had a solid comeback, and CL was definitely the best MS player of the year.
So yeah - I'd say they both were levels above LD in 2015.

 

CL bagged the GO and AE in 2013. No idea if anyone else managed to win 2 titles in 2 weeks since then, though.

 

And LCW did it more recently - the China and Hong Kong Open 2015!
Canada and US Open are not high level enough imop, but he won those back-to-back as well.

 

Yeah, count games where the opponent didn't compete. Way to buff your stats.

 

No matter what, Lin Dan winning this German GPG, and beating the likes of SWH, CTC, and Sho Sasaki (who is worth mentioning as he played one of his best badminton) is, to put it plainly , no mean feat. Particularly, the way CTC played against JOJ and then in the way he played, even better, against LD in the final was commendable, and we all know what CTC is capable of.

Incidentally, I recalled that the last time LD played and lost to LCW, it was a close, hard-fought 3-setter with LD taking the 1st set and narrowly losing the next two when had a clear lead in both. So, it 's simply not justifiable nor convincing for anybody to say that LCW is a better player than LD the last two years, no basis whatsoever. Btw, LCW also has his fair share of humiliating defeats to unfancied players (eg, to Heo Kwang Hee in the qualies, remember ?), not to mention some of his losses to LD and CL within the same period concerned.

Lastly, KM has never beaten LD, at least both JOJ and CTC had the last two years. The facts are there, undeniable. True, 2015 was LD's worst year in his career - he lost 12 times and won only one title, the JPN Open beating VA in the final.

For 2016, a good start is half the battle won. May Lin Dan rise and shine once again. JiaYou ! All the best.

 

I just don't get it. People don't seem to understand the concept of rankings....being the best player in the world doesn't mean you wont ever lose to anyone, it doesn't even mean you have to have a positive H2H against everyone. It means you perform the best on average - and if you win against LCW one tournament, then lose to no-namers and runners the next 4 or 5, sorry, then you're a worse player than LCW. Even if maybe he has a mental barrier against you, or your play style counters his, or you can read him better than anyone else in the world.
The logic of those arguments is pathetic. If I beat LD once, will I be the better player, despite not even getting into SS draws? No. Emphatically no. So stop it with those H2H comparisons whenever someone mentions your idol might not be the strongest player anymore....everyone knows LCW doesn't perform well against LD, and if they actually meet, LD's chance of winning is never even close to 0, regardless of apparent shape or how the previous games in that tournament went. Most of the time, LD's chance of winning is above 50%. But that he's LCW's nemesis doesn't make him a stronger player overall, and in their current shape with LD barely able to cope with CTC's tame tempo I would strongly favor LCW in a match. Not as much as I would favor CL over LD though.

Btw, only because he has humiliated LD once, I don't see Axelsen as the stronger player. I think he is quite a dangerous player than can beat anyone on his day, but his experience and mental fortitude make LD the slightly better player at this point.


As a closing point - congrats to LD for winning this title. More than I expected out of him, and even though the match was a sore disappointment after the MD final, good effort, and remarkable discipline&self-belief.

 

Well, if Lin Dan advances as far as the Semifinals (going one better than the QFs the previous year where he lost to Chen Long) or, better still, the Finals, of the AE next week,win or lose, I would still regard it as a huge progress on his part coming immediately after the German Open title win. It will be proof positive that Lin Dan is resurgent, steadily and inexorably, then by the time of the Rio Olympics, we should see him a serious contender for the ultimate prize.

I just checked the AE draw - Lin Dan is slated to meet JOJ in the QF, and Chen Long in the SF, with a possible clash with LCW (who is in the lower half) in the Finals , if they all progress that far. I must say, a pretty tough journey for Lin Dan.

 

Goodnight, it's been a long week of late nights. Expect the same next week, thanks to the All England !