Matters came to a conclusion on the first day of play, Friday 26th
September 2007, at the Liebherr Men’s World Cup in the Belgian city of
Liège with the eventual victors having to withstand spirited recoveries
by their respective adversaries.
Playing in Group D, Korea’s Ryu Seung Min survived against Hong Kong’s Li Ching.
Meanwhile,in Group B Ma Long withstood the fight back mounted by Ryu Seung Min’s compatriot Joo Se Hyuk.
Against Li Ching, Ryu Seung Min established a three games to nil
lead and the sixth game led 10-6; he surrendered all four match points
before bringing mind and body together to win the seventh game.
Ryu Seung Min won 11-4, 11-7, 11-6, 5-11, 5-11, 11-13, 11-5
Similar
Similarly,
Joo Se Hyuk, recovered from a two games to nil deficit against Ma Long
to level at two games all but he could never establish a lead.
Ma Long prevailed 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9.
Relaxed
"In
the first three games Li Ching was very relaxed, I think his mind was
also somewhat relaxed, I don’t think he was totally focused", said Ryu
Seung Min. "Then when I went three games to nil ahead, it was my mind
that was relaxed!"
A loss of concentration and then not the most astute tactics.
Tactical Error
"In
the sixth game when I led 10-6 I served long to Li Ching’s forehand,
that was a mistake", continued Ryu Seung Min. "My service was bad; then
in the seventh game I moved the ball about the table more, he’s good
when the ball is short, so I flicked to attack the ball whenever I
could and forced him to block."
Zagreb Recalled
Meanwhile, for Ma Long maturity came into the equation.
At
the 2007 Liebherr World Championships, Ma Long had lost to Joo Se Hyuk;
the only singles defeat suffered in that tournament by a member of the
Chinese national team against foreign opposition.
"On that
occasion, Ma Long led by two games to nil", explained Qin Zhijian, the
coach on duty in Liège with the Ma Long and Wang Hao and himself a left
handed penhold grip player of some note.
Maturity
"It’s
different now to 2007, Ma Long is much more mature", continued Qin
Zhijian. "In Zagreb he became disturbed, here he maintained his focus
and kept calm; in the seventh game he put together all the positives
from the previous six."
Ma Long maintained his concentration, he
played consistently when it mattered and he ended the day unbeaten but
he was tested, severely tested.
The good news for China is that he passed the test.
Source: www.ittf.com
