Summary

The Liebherr 2019 World Table Tennis Championships, held in Budapest, Hungary, featured a Men Singles Final pitting Ma long of China and Mattias Falck of Sweden. This final was intriguing as Falck was the first non-Chinese player to make a world championship finals since 2003. On that occasion, Werner Schlager of Austria won again Joo Se-Hyuk of South Korea.

Falck undeniably had an amazing tournament, and his form, in my opinion, did carry over into the final, but Ma Long came very prepared. Ma Long knew exactly what had to be done to overcome the tricky short pip forehand of Falck.

Ma Long’s Perfect Execution

Ma Long’s strategy was very straightforward. He was relentless, and attacked every ball that could have been attacked, which put Falck at a huge disadvantage throughout the match.

In addition, Ma Long never went for forced shots, and played patiently to extend the points. With Falck’s style, Ma Long understood that he had a higher chance of winning throughout the extended rallies. This mainly had to do with the nature of Falck’s short pips. While powerful throughout the beginning shots of the point, the strength of short pips, or its ability to smash balls with very little rotation, loses its effectiveness due to either a build up of rotation on the ball, or when the opponent drives the ball low over the net. By attacking the first ball and extending the rally, Ma Long was able to nullify the strength of Falck’s forehand. Without his forehand, Falck could not cope enough to take the match.

Falck’s Hesitant Play

Ma Long played, undoubtedly, an excellent match, but I do think that Falck could have done a few things to keep himself a bit more competitive.

Throughout the match, I found Falck to be very hesitant when going for his attacks, particularly on the forehand. This hesitation took away the effectiveness of his first attack, which put him into a defensive position during the match.

Secondly, Falck tended to serve too long too often in the match. Serving long invites the opponent to attack first, to get straight into the open rally. Against previous opponents, this worked well for Falck, as the attacks off the long serve were not difficult for Falck to counter attack. However, Ma Long was able to put away these long serves every time, which again took away Falck’s first attack.

Final Impressions: Ma Long is impressive

Overall, Ma Long played extremely well and executed his strategy perfectly. Falck played well, but there were a few key mistakes that prevented him from playing at the level he needed to in order to win. However, it was still a thrilling World Table Tennis Championship final!

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