neither yuta or endo good enough at the front of the court, the danes force them to lift almost every single time. idk, but I think yuta/kamura would be a nice pair.
I always think that semifinal with two sessions will be ended with such catastrophic final's schedule. Especially players/pairs that play at the second SF session would feel they have a disadvantage regarding resting time against their opponent. In this case, the proper order of play would be MS, WS, XD, WD, MD. (no double duties in any category). I think the referee or anyone take the decision of the final order of play use no brain in such a short time before they finally reveal the schedule. Or else, they've just though that Watanabe would have no problem with that since he's a Japanese player and 12 hours resting time is enough. The current Final schedule would be nice if Watanabe/Endo won their match (Watanabe with double duties placed at first & last match).
the way i see it .... the organizer just want to give maximum resting time to european representatives .... that's all .... they don't care bout the rest.... i'm just shocked such prestigious tournament, without consideration, gonna make yuta watanabe plays final - match of his life - 12 hours after his semifinal bout, especially since his semifinal bout ends at midnight ..... lame organizer of the highest order
Yes how inconsiderate. But maybe they thought it okay since ZSW/HYQ played second to last match anyway?
WTF happened to Endo, he's lost all confidence, especially in serving in the last few days. The injury he had treated was a bruise according to the doc, but still he's been terrible. I don't think him and Yuta are the best combination but I really hope Yuta finds a good MD partner for the future.
Maybe they thought Arisa had more than one day of rest and if you look at it that way, then its ZSW/HYQ that will have lack of rest.
tonite, lin may join this list https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_England_Open_Badminton_Championships#Successful_players. Or not, they might cut off Eddy B. Choong from it
FINALS (12.00pm local time) => https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/...6160C1-6ABB-43CF-A535-2F0175C84D7D&d=20180318 XD, Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino (JPN) v Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong (CHN) H-2-H : 0-1 / WR : 48 v 12 Japanese unseeded duo keep their impressive performance since the beginning of tournament, high-spirited Watanabe/Higashino dictate and control semifinal match to outmaneuver Zhang N/Li YH, the Chinese didn't show too much to halt the faster opponent and lost 14-21 / 18-21. Later on, the thrilling encounter see China new aces squeeze past Danish pair Christiansen/Pedersen. The Dane made excellent start to take opening game, then Zheng/Huang come back stronger to force rubber games. Leading most times in deciding game until 18-16, the momentum shifts at the end to the Chinese who grab four crucial point to transform into match point, Danish combo saved one but it's not enough to halt Zheng/Huang bag final ticket. World number 12 pair are favoured to top podium against Watanabe/Higashino but we'll see whether the Japanese could deliver another big upset today. WS, Tai Tzu Ying (TPE) v Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) H-2-H : 5 v 4 / WR : 1 v 2 A potential close contest to determine the winner to portray women's singles high competitiveness. Tai Tzu Ying was forced to play extra games yesterday, title-holder Tai produced so many unforced errors in second set while Chen Yufei appeared more aggressively. Next game saw the Taiwanese was back to her forte to trouble her opponent with series of deceptive shots. Unfavourable draw for Pusarla Sindhu to face two Japanese top-ranked players in two consecutive rounds, she experiences same pattern with quarterfinal clash to display marathon match that draining energy a lot. Yamaguchi made nervous start before she regain her rhythm gradually however Sindhu took opening game, 21-19. The identical scoreline repeats on second game who goes to the Japanese starlet. Leading 13-7, Sindhu lost focus and looks exhausted as Yamaguchi staying calm to close the gap slowly, the turning point arrives as the world number two sealed the tie with 21-18. MS, Shi Yuqi (CHN) v Lin Dan (CHN) H-2-H : 2-1 / WR : 6 v 8 All Chinese finals will pit two players from different generation, will we witness new Men's Singles champion born today or the old name is still unbeatable? Crowd favourite Lin Dan is hunting 7th All England crown, the favourite tournament for him that he won last time two years ago, defeated his compatriot Tian Houwei with flawless performance. On the other side, a second consecutive All England final for Shi Yuqi after ousted tamely to Lee Chong Wei last year. Shi beat the Olympic Champion Chen Long and three Korean rivals en route to final including Son Wan Ho yesterday, this 22 years old showed convincing style and improved technique to overcome Son with two straight-games, 21-17 / 21-14. This young man is regarded as Lin and Chen successor to carry China men's singles flying high particularly for Tokyo 2020 project. China maestro Lin knocked out younger teammate Huang Yuxiang in three games, Lin displayed lack of shot accuracy in second game before back into his excellent form in third game. Statistics underscores China men's singles player achievement in All England arena, they always cruising into final since 2000 edition, only failed once in 2010 when Kenichi Tago beat Bao Chunlai in semifinal. What a stunning record! WD, Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (JPN) v Kamilla Rytter Juhl/Christinna Pedersen (DEN) H-2-H : 2-4 / WR : 4 v 3 Juhl/Pedersen have opportunity to break Asian domination in this category, the last European WD pair captured All England crown are Nora Perry/Jane Webster in 1981. The Danish veterans imposed right strategy to defeat less-experienced Matsumoto/Nagahara yesterday to book final berth after last year losing to Chang YN/Lee SH. Another tough Japanese duo await them as final hurdle, Fukushima/Hirota who took revenge over Dubai Finals defeat against Tanaka/Yonemoto in three games. It would be huge setback for Japan if they couldn't nail women's doubles title with a such powerful squad presentation in Birmingham. MD, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA) v Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen (DEN) H-2-H : 3-4 / WR : 1 v 2 An ideal final and expected thunderous men's doubles duel to close the curtain of All England 2018. The sensational minions score impeccable record, nine consecutive finals since Korea Superseries last September deliver them as strong favourite to defend their title this evening. Boe/Mogensen had collected two All England titles (2011, 2015) found toughest test at last sixteen towards final, won narrowly over Indian youngsters Rankireddy/Shetty while Gideon/Sukamuljo only dropped one game against Malaysian back-ups Ong YS/Teo EY at second round. The Indonesians should be alert for their vast experienced opponent tactical play as head to head stats indicate Boe/Mogensen are the hardest rival to overcome so far despite the world number won last two encounters.
They should really learn a thing or two from professional tennis tours, in atp and wta tours they always schedule in such a way so that a player playing both singles and doubles get as much of a rest as he/she can before their next match.
My prediction for AE 2018 winners XD: Zheng/Huang (CHN) MS : Lin Dan (CHN) WS: Tai Tzu Ying (TPE) WD: Fukushima/Hirota (JPN) MD: Gideon/Sukamuljo (INA)
I agree, though Lin Dan didn't join the winter training (probably stayed back in Beijing to spend more time with his family over the Lunar New Year), he would still do his physical training with his personal trainer paid out of his own pocket. For all we know, he decided or realized he had to do something about his physicality, fitness and stamina, and underwent intensive workouts and long-distance running to build up his endurance. Just saying.
Indeed. Watanabe played last match and his opponents played second to last. That is as fair as it can be. It is always difficult when players play two categories. Today they made a SF schedule where Watanabe's matches AND Christinna's matches were one early and one late. Ask Kamilla Juhl what she thinks about how much rest she got between her QF and SF.
The 12-year age gap between Lin Dan and Shi Yuqi has to count for something, esp when the older man is already in his mid-30s and playing his 5th consecutive match in a high level tournament. Shi Yuqi would certainly improve his chances of winning by stretching it to three games. Let's not forget how the 37-yr-old Lee Hyun Il struggled to cope in R2 with SYQ. I'd say SYQ has a fighting chance of winning it but with Lin Dan much more skillful, experienced and familiar with his young teammate's game, he certainly has his chances too, just not sure how his stamina will hold up. Fair or not is besides the point, badminton is a physically demanding sport. It's a case of Youthful Exuberance and Fitness vs Skills and Experience - we're in for a treat. I won't be surprised if Xia Xuanze is secretly wishing for SYQ to come of age and prove he is ready for the big stage as it's quite a stretch to continue relying on the aged Lin Dan (and Chen Long) most of the time to deliver when it matters. Simply put, at least for CHN, SYQ winning his maiden All England is more significant than for Lin Dan capturing his 7th AE crown. Needless to say, ardent fans of Lin Dan would love to see the grand old man of badminton, its greatest icon, wearing the AE crown again. Can't wait to see how it goes.
We got the DreamFinal First vs Second seeds in WS and MD. This is the least AllEngland deserves. Lets hope for mesmerizing yet controversial day.
