(Chung's Notes: This is my second day in Osaka. I am quickly realizing that watching the Worlds is a tiring thing, even though the action is consistently spectacular. The mind simply gets overloaded with all this good stuff. I hope I have not forgotten most of what I saw.)
Two titles would have been awarded by the end of play today: the women's singles, and the men's doubles. But the men's singles quarter-finals and semifinals probably were the events that held the interest of most fans.
Wang Liqin vs Kim Taek Soo: This was the match that was the most intriguing for me. Could Wang play at his normal level and take another step closer to the title? Could Kim, who admitted that he usually did his best against the Chinese, avenge his gut wrenching loss to China a week ago? This appeared to be a contest of Wang's head vs Kim's heart. On paper, Wang should be able to beat Kim, but Wang had been known to lose the big ones.
Wang, as was typical in this tournament up to now, started slow. He gave up a good-sized lead to Kim early, and although he then played evenly with Kim, lost the first game 15-21. And just like yesterday, from the second game on, he started playing at his tempo, and controlled the match. He won the second game easily at 14. The third game was a close affair. With the score tied at 15-15, Wang returned a Kim loop, and the umpires ruled that the ball touched the table's edge and awarded Wang the point. Kim argued, but to no avail. Then Wang, not distracted at all after the minute-long delay, promptly scored 6 of the next 7 points to wrap up the game 21-16. The 4th game was close in the beginning, then Wang grabbed the lead, and kept widening it, winning at 21-13 and finished Kim's hopes for an upset. Kim's wife was in attendance, and the enthusiastic Korean supporters kept cheering Kim, but this was Wang's day. There were a lot of great points played, and Kim kept showing his much improved backhand smashes and lobs. In the end, Wang was simply stronger and quicker, and his mental toughness up to the task. Kim's forehand loops were good, and Wang's were even better.
Chiang Peng-Lung vs Liu Guoliang: For once, Liu was the underdog, although he certainly did not look like it in game 1. He was the same 1999 vintage Liu in that game, dominating with his serves, and quickly opened a 12-3 lead, and finishing the game 21-12. In the second, Chiang started to return Liu's serves, and his smash-loops were repeatedly finding their targets. It was close until Chiang gained a small lead in mid-game, and held on to a 21-17 lead. The third game was all Chiang; it was a signature game for him. He could do no wrong, quickly leading 6-0, 12-3 and winning 21-6! He attacked Liu's serves mercilessly, like no one had ever been able to do. He kept this up in the beginning of the 4th game, and opened a 10-1 lead. Liu looked like he was finished, maybe for good. Then something amazing happened, Liu came back a point at a time, no fireworks but just steady play, and took the lead at 17-15! From that point on it was anyone's game, and Chiang just had a little extra to scrape up a close 21-19 win. Match to Chiang, but Liu had shown the Chinese one important thing: Chiang still lacked the killer instinct vital in the big games.
Ma Lin vs Liu Guozheng: These two have been school-mates, team-mates and doubles partners. They had also fiercely competed for an Olympic spot. They know each other's game so well, that it was like watching Waldner play Persson. There were a lot of magnificent rallies. Ma kept executing his ferocious forehand loops, and Liu kept returning them. Ma won the first 2 games, then Liu won the next 2. The 5th was close all the way, and either could have won. Luck favored Ma this time, and he got the 21-19 win to propel himself to the semifinals.
Kong Linghui vs Samsonov: Samsonov was Europe's last hope in this Worlds. The ease with which he beat Waldner gave the rest of the world a glimmer of hope that the Chinese were not invincible. Kong had had an up-and-down tournament so far. His close call against Maze certainly raised questions about his big-ball aptitude. Could Kong still be King?
Samsonov started the match serving, and Kong made a loud statement that he was ready by loop-killing the first two serves. He was the same old Kong, combining exquisite control with just enough muscle to quickly win the first two games at 15 and 10. Samsonov looked a little hesitant, and was having lots of problems with Kong's serves. It looked like it was all over for Samsonov. Then he seemed to wake up, and helped by the crowd's loud cheering, won the 3rd game easily at 11. Now Kong and his coach Cai started taking Samsonov seriously. The fourth game was a very tight one, and it was hard to believe that it was still the same match. Finally, Kong just had a little bit more consistentcy, or maybe simply a little luckier, and won the 4th game 22-20. Now Europe's demise in this Worlds is complete.
The first one was the one that held the most suspense: Wang Liqin vs Chiang Peng-Lung. Could Chiang punch through the Chinese wall? With the final goal in sight, could Wang now have a mental lapse?
This time Wang started playing right away. He showed the world why he was ranked number one: powerful offense, solid defense, and a magnificent ability to transition from defense to offense. With the big ball, his serve returns are no longer a weakness, and strangely, his serves are now dominating. Not known for being a 3rd ball attacker, Wang now has a legitimate serve-and-attack game. Wang also showed how the shakehand grip could be the superior grip: the flexibility on the backhand was just too big an advantage, over even someone with as good a penhold backhand as Chiang. The first game started evenly until mid-game, when Wang extended a 13-12 lead to a comfortable 21-13 win. Chiang played the second game much more evenly with Wang, and with his excellent loop-smashes and backhand punch-blocks, opened a lead mid-game, from a 11-all tie, that turned into a 20-15 advantage, with Wang to serve. Then Wang's 3rd ball attack took over, and he won the next 6 points to go up 21-20. Several points later, the dejected Chiang flew his racket on the table, having lost 24-22 a game that he should have won. This is now a repeating problem: Chiang cannot reliably finish the big games.
Wang kept up his inspired play in the third game, but Chiang was able to stay close. With the score tied at 13-all, Wang started his run, raising his fist and shouting "Sha" (meaning kill in Chinese) after every point won, and finished the game 21-14. A convincing performance by Wang Liqin. So close, and yet so far, for Chiang Peng-Lung.
In the bottom half, Kong played Ma. These two players were totally familiar with each other. Interestingly, both semifinals were rematches of past US Open finals. And the results were the same. Kong lost the first game, due largely to Ma's ability to consistently hit the forehand down-the-line loop-kill. Then starting from the second game, Kong returned most of those. His consistency and control took over the game, making a strong case for the shakehand grip's superiority over the penhold grip. Ma, as usual, put in a valiant effort, but Kong was just too solid a player for him to prevail over. Kong won in 4 (-14, 17, 13, 15)
So another all-Chinese final, and another title for China.
Only the women's doubles is in question, with Japan's
Takeda/Kawagoe the only non-Chinese semifinalist.
(Chung's Notes: I did not watch the Wang-Zhang match until halfway through the 3rd match. The schedule did not allow time for a lunch break, and I had to leave the halls to eat. Wang won a fairly convincing 3-1 match over her frequent opponent Zhang Yining; Wang's was just too steady today.)
Lin Ling vs Kim Yun Mi (North Korea): Lin is the last minute replacement for Sun Jin on the Chinese women's roster, and Kim is the 69th (I think) ranked player on the latest ranking list. So this match featured two unexpected contestants, both trying to justify why they belonged. Of the two, Lin was the superior player on paper: strong all-round player and a past Pro-Tour Grand Finals runner-up. Cai is Lin's coach today, showing that the Chinese are serious about this match. Kim plays an unusual style: penhold with inverted on forehand side and long pips on the back. She uses the long-pips side on about 80% of her backhand shots, and relies on her opponents to make mistakes more than herself to attack. Kim got here by upsetting Li Ju, who claimed carelessness, and by beating a couple of Europeans, who clearly were very confused by this unusual style. Could Kim extend her streak of upsets?
Lin Ling obviously was much more experienced in playing long-pips than the Europeans. She won the first game comfortably at 21-14, being able to use her powerful loops against the mostly defensive Kim. In the second game Kin started to settle down, and Lin started to make errors, especially on her backhand loops which were often too long. Kim took the second game comfortably at 21-14. Maybe another upset in the making? Kim started the 3rd well, and opened a 9-4 lead when Cai called time-out. It obviously was the right thing to do, since from that point on, Lin played very well and won that game 21-18. Lin was very comfortable attacking the long pips, or letting Kim attack. Lin's away-from-the-table defense was the best among the Chinese, and many times Kim would pin Lin down, but could not finish the points. The 4th game was all Lin, winning easily at 21-11. Afterwards, the emotional Lin was in tears, and sat for a long time before leaving the court. A well-deserved chance for Lin, who had played well for China, but because of her European style, often ended up not picked to represent China in the important tournaments.
Another title for the Chinese.