Ma Long Gets Revenge
In my last post, I mentioned how Fan Zhendong seemed to have all the answers against Ma Long. In this match, which came before the match that was reviewed in my previous post, this wasn’t the case. Ma Long clearly held an advantage early on. In the first 3 games, Ma Long took away Fan’s strong backhand by serving half-long to the forehand. This serve handcuffed Fan into using his weaker forehand opening or baited him to move across to use his backhand. Ma Long aggressively attacked the next ball into Fan Zhendong’s backhand, and thus got the advantage early in the rally.
Fan Zhendong Showed Maturity
Fan Zhendong is known for his strong backhand, but Ma Long simply never allowed Fan to initiate the attack from his backhand side. Ma Long took initiative in this match, attacking on both sides so consistently and aiming towards the middle of Fan, Fan couldn’t find his dominating backhand. I mentioned this in a previous review, in which I felt Ma Long had to initiate more on the attack rather than try to countertop against Fan.
In the past, I felt that Ma Long Ma Long often tried to counterattack because he prefers to use the force from his opponents. This is not as common in the Men’s game as in the Women’s game. Ma Long doesn’t want to play long rallies, but it is difficult for him to finish the point with his opening attack. This explains why his serves are always attackable. However, this critical error, or underestimation, was rectified here.
What should Fan Zhendong have done?
I feel as if Fan Zhendong would have benefited from faster play. Ma Long had too many opportunities to drop shot or flick the short serves from Fan. Serving long and fast on occasion would have help Fan to find the faster and bigger shots that he is known for. You cannot play passively against Ma Long- his ability to counterattack and apply pressure is simply too overbearing.
Parting Thoughts
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