U.S. Open 2008

Hmm..

..thanks for sharing a bit of background about them, malayali..
Btw, is Imam from Indonesia or M'sia?? I noticed his last name is Darmawan (sounds Indonesian to me)...oh, and i notice Imam came with his fiance/wife/girlfriend??..

..yep, head and shoulder are what he'll get, even the lens is parked on the seating stands.

 

Day 3 pics - Here they are..

..Singles actions pics to share before i leave...

Notice the middle pics showing Johanna and Eva. That scene was towards the end of their match, and the fans erupted in applause.. Johanna threw her racket first on the floor and Eva followed suit by collapsing, belly first...

Singles actions pics..

 

Day 3 pics - Doubles actions..

..here are the pics..

Doubles actions pics...The last pic tells the whole story of that particular match...

 

Day 3 pics - Misc. pics..

Misc. pics..

Okay, our Brandon should know who this adorable young girl is, in the pics below....Brandon???...

 

Day 3 pics - Last batch of pics for LHL..

..a few more Lee Hock Lai's pics (the 3 scenes below, with him laughing, was right after his Singles lost)..







..chat to y'all later...*waves bye*

 

^^The pics look quite nice...^^

..yeah, they do look "classical" but quite pleasant. It's rare nowadays for one to take pics, esp. badminton pics, with a film camera....You should post them here and have all the BCers see them..
Oh, one more thing, once i'm able to upload the video highlights (which i don't know how long it'll take me to post-process and upload), you guys can thank Daylightkiller, also, for helping out with the video recording/capture. He's been awesome!!

 

Quick recap of Day 4 (Semifinals') actions..

..of the Semifinals round..

- XD: It was a battle of the U.S. pairs. Halim & Grace played a consistent game while Howard & Eva kept it close, in both sets, til the end. But in the end, the more seasoned pair (with Grace seemingly back to her dominating self at the net) clinched it & secured a place in the Finals.
On the other match, USA's surprise pairing of Dinh & Wang gave it their all, but Beres & Loker made quick work in both sets, without really having much trouble, to advance to the Finals.
XD Final outlook: I'm looking at the U.S. pair to win it, possibly in 3 sets. Look for the U.S.' pair to attack, attack and attack Ms. Loker in their XD Final matchup. And if Mr. Beres can't cover her or Ms. Loker can't contain the attacks, it'll be a victory for the U.S.' pair. On the other hand, the game will be decided around the net and if Ms. Loker can at least hold her ground at the net area, then the CAN pair should have a good chance to claim victory.

- MS: It was a battle of the 2 lefties. But this time Mr. Dabeka was in control for most of the match, even if at times, in the 2nd set, Mr. Cordon tried to make a game of it, even with his thundering smashes. But it was just too many unforced errors by Mr. Cordon and a simply more consistent game from his opponent which finally placed Mr. Dabeka in the Finals.
On the other match, it was a good affair as CAN's Snider gave DEN's Bille Larsen a very stiff challenge, esp. in the first 2 sets. But in the end, Bille Martin tightened up his game and closed the deal to set up a very intriguing MS Final.
MS Final outlook: 50-50 game. It will be the veteran & savvy Dabeka vs. the sprightly & towering Bille Martin. And it could go the full 3 sets.

- WS: The young Chloe Magee has been a surprise. With her light footwork and soft touches, sprinkled with some clever plays, she passed by Chinese TPE's Hung Shih Chieh in 3 sets. After giving up the 2nd set, in the end, the seemingly more full of energy Magee cruised by Hung with ease.
On the other match, it was a match pitting arguably 2 of the best WS players in the U.S. But it was Ms. Zhou who, despite losing the 2nd set, dominated the entire match with her always clever placement of the shuttles. In the end, with a scoreline resembling that of the 2nd set, and Eva battling to conserve whatever energy she had left (esp. after playing in 3 events), it would be Ms. Zhou who'll represent the U.S. and advance to the WS Final.
Yes, as 2 of the BCers have inferred to, it was definitely a monumental challenge for Eva, last night. Playing 3 events all week long finally took a toll on her.
WS Final outlook: It's 50-50 game as both players haven't seen each other's game. And it should be a pretty good affair & it'll probably be the toughest test for Ms. Magee in this tourney. We'll see how she deals with the much more seasoned game of Ms. Zhou

- WD: The combination pairing of Reid and Grether gave it their all, but the young and more skilled TPE's pair never were in trouble as they made a sound work vs. the 2 combo pairing.
On the other match, the U.S.' pairing of Lee and Mangkalakiri gave their opponents a run in the 1st set. But they just couldn't get over the hump in the 2nd as TPE's other WD pairing made sure it would be an all Chinese TPE's WD Final. Esp. with Lee having to gather all the energy she had left after playing in 3 events.
*2 cents comment: In the future, perhaps Ms. Lee should concentrate on just 1 or 2 events, just for the sake of keeping her stamina in check. Perhaps her long and arduous WS match, y'day took its toll on her in all of her Semifinals' matches.
Final outlook: This one could be one of those "doozer" game. We'll see if both pair will play it all out & hope there wouldn't be a W/O.

- MD: Last matches of the night involved 2 pairs, all representing both CAN and the U.S. First match, it was the defending U.S. Open runners-up from last yr facing CAN's scratch pairing of Beres and Rogers. But it was just too much power from Bach and Malaythong as they clamped down their game and made a quick work vs. their CAN's scratch pairing.
On the other match, CAN's Milroy and Ng made a stiff challenge in the 1st set against U.S.' scratch pairing of Haryanto and Rai. But it was the veteran Haryanto who held the nerves and clinched it for an all U.S. MD Final.
Final outlook: I'm looking for Bach and Malaythong to finally win their 1st ever U.S. Open title. Look for possibly, Bach & Malaythong to take their opportunity to attack Rai, but won't be surprised if Haryanto becomes a bigger target.

Now, on to the Finals...................and pics of Day 4 actions will come in a short while...

 

Yep..

..that's Mr. Andy Tran...
..As for the Chinese TPE's gal, not only her quads are the same if not larger, but her calves as well....but i think Lili's lower body is much more defined...