Today's finals is of high quality. Although generally, in any tournament, the semi- and quarter-finals are more exciting, the finals today is about as good as it gets. So any Germans reading this, go and catch the action. It's uncommon that they are holding the finals on a Saturday, but I think it's an excellent strategy. The German Open is a run-up tournament to the All-England, so any extra day of rest between the two tournaments is welcomed. The downside is that the rest of the tournament is during the weekday. First up, XD Nathan Robertson/Gail Emms v Lee Jae Jin/Lee Hyo Jung None of the players are involved in other finals (which is pretty unique), so this is the only chance for them to grab a title. Robertson/Emms are hardened veterans. The Lees are newcomers to this event but showed their mettle when they convincingly defeated Eriksen/Scholdager for the Korean title. Lee Jae Jin is a fiery character and I expect a showdown with Robertson. Prediction: the English to win in three games. WS Zhang Ning v Xie Xingfang If you don't think this tie is exciting, then how about beauty and grace in motion. Zhang is widely acknowledged as the best WS player out there, and Xie is one of the chasing pack, possibly the best among the chasing pack. Therefore, it's not just grace and beauty, it's also a high-quality match. Prediction: Zhang to win in straight games. MD Jens Eriksen/Martin Lundgaard-Hansen v Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng The best from Denmark take on the best from China. Experience, composure and psychological experts, the Danes, against hard-hitting, fast-moving, risk-taking Chinese. Prediction: The Danes to come back for a 2-1 win. WD Gao Ling/Huang Sui v Wei Yili/Zhao Tingting This may be the least exciting tie today, but on the other hand, I have never seen an all-Chinese WD match that is not interesting. Maybe it's because they know one another so well, and there are so many of them (no one wants to be bottom of the heap). Predictions: Gao/Huang is straight sets. MS Lin Dan v Mohd. Hafiz Hashim The big one. Lin Dan: World no 1, the one to beat in every tournament he enters, every time he loses it is big news, watch his sublime skill, speed and ability. Hafiz: Not high in the rankings but don't be fooled by that, a player that all respect including Lin, every opponent hopes that he is not on fire, watch his trickery reminiscent of the great Zhao Jianhua. But like Zhao Jianhua, Hafiz is fully capable of tricking his own self. We know Lin Dan is an excellent player, but we don't know if Hafiz will even be a fairly good player. Predictions: Lin Dan, whether easily or with a struggle depends on Hafiz's mental state.
Good calls Good calls, Just want to add a little insight. 1. Believe that the Zhang Ning, Xie Xingfang match is a toss-up. While I truly want Zhang to win, Xingfang has been on fire winning 4 tournaments in a row. 2. Although I believe Robertson/Emms will win, I hope and pray they do not ( no offence to their fans ). Saw them in the Copenhagen masters and have been cheering against them since that wretched display. 3. Go Martin and Jens ( Best men's doubles team out there )
I hope Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng will be the winner in this tournament. It could be the openning title for them in 2005.
i have seen the future!!!!!! MD i dont think the chinese MD pair has enough raw firepower and speed to really trouble Jens & Lundgaard. i predict the danes to win in straights and no more than 11 points in each sets for the chinese. MS i predict a rubber. going either way. it is leaning to lin dan 55% and 45% to hafiz. by tomorrow when the results come out im most probably gonna look very stupid! 8man
Actually, I think you've made the right calls on this one. LD does have the edge and I think he'll take it.
here are the prediction. i have two types, ones that came from my sense, and one that came from my heart. XD: heart says Koreans, but sense says England. WS: heart loudly says Xie, but sense says nobody can topple the great Zhang. Xie is fast and powerful, but Zhang is even faster and more powerful. and who says she is 29? she plays like she is only 19. MD: old fast and furious against new fast and furious. heart and sense is still fighting over this. heart says the Chinese deserves a title after such a long drought, sense says the only way they can win is to play faster and more importantly, smarter. WD: heart says Zhang/Yang isn't playing so it doesn't care. sense that unless someone breaks an arm, Gao/Huang will win. MS: heart have no preference here. sense that it will take a giant to topple Lin Dan, but then Hafiz isn't exactly small in stature either....
My takes on the Finals.. I have a feeling the MS will go rubber set. Why??Li Mao is now on the M'sian side, and def. he knows the weakness(es) of Lin Dan. What else will he tell Hafiz??..Win or lose, we'll see if Hashim has enough in the tank to battle it out with LinDan..But come to think of it, i just have a funny feeling that LiMao is working as a "spy" for the Chinese team??(hehe)..Sorry, this is just me, I mean think about it, could he also possibly tell LYB on what the M'sian player(s) weaknesses are??..Anyways.. For WS, I wouldn't be surprised to see Zhang Ning let XXF wins it. Zhang Ning will probably get some rest, prepare and finally get the AE title next week, to add and basically complete her trophies. WD, it should be a good one. Again, GaoLing/HuangSui could give this game to the other Chinese pair. I'm quite surprise to see how the Korean WD team has advanced and improved, esp. with the play Lee HyoJung. If she keeps this up, and the same with her partner Lee JaeJin in the MX, the fans won't really miss RaKyungMin and KDM. I think she and LeeJJ, barring any major injuries, will be the next "great" Korean doubles player. MD, I would be surprise if the Danes lose, esp. after what they did in the Korean Open against Candra/Sigit. For XD, it's going to be a close one as well, could go rubber set. Again, win or lose, the Korean pair, LJJ/LHJ are improving and have been the surprise thus far, so we shall see what they can provide. All in all, IMO, whoever wins in all the fields, most likely they won't win the AE. It's tough enough to win the AE(because of so many good players and basically all the best players competing), let alone compete all-out and win in 2 straight 'Grand Prix' tournaments. The All-England will be interesting. Esp. on the MS side, where Peter Gade and Kenneth Jonassen will be well rested and they'll be awaiting the Chinese quartet(Chen Hong, XXZ, Lin Dan, BCL). Too bad though, as I was expecting a match between Taufik vs. PGade... just my 2 cents...
Congratulations to Lee/Lee Just checked the German Open website. Lee/Lee win over Robertson/Emms. Hooray and congratulations to them. Looks like we have the likely successors to Kim/Ra here.
Yes ,I agrre with you! ZHANG NING never get AE title, I think the AE title is more important for her.
If Hafiz wins today, it could spell disaster for Malaysian badminton. Why? Like his elder brother, he may isolate himself from other players, wake up 4am in the morning to jog and ended up disgracing himself in the biggies (possibly next week's prestigious AE).
So ,I admire you! It's not easy that none of your top 3 predictions is right.^_^Let's see the last two matches. Maybe it will have no any unexpected results.
