Liang's God-Tier Full-Game Comeback: The Year's Best Drama (Comedy)
1
First, some appetizers. In the first men’s team semifinal, Japan beat Chinese Taipei 3-0. In the opener, Lin Yun-Ju lost 1-3 to Tomokazu Harimoto, basically signaling the plan had failed. When you put Lin Yun-Ju in the second-singles spot, it means he must take two points alone, with no room for error.
Lin Yun-Ju: Super Viscaria, Z03, D05. Tomokazu Harimoto: Harimoto SALC, Z03 on both sides.
This stretch, Lin Yun-Ju’s backhand flick felt very good, and so it was at the start. Both tried to initiate and flick first, resorting to a long chop only when necessary. Lin Yun-Ju was in good form and won the first game. From the second game, Harimoto raised his linking speed as much as possible and served more spin/no-spin serves to limit Lin Yun-Ju’s flick. In the third and fourth games, Harimoto was well-prepared for Lin Yun-Ju’s flick (mainly cross-court), and his own table coverage was very large. Lin Yun-Ju made some serve adjustments, with average results. Overall, his attack was mainly cross-court, which Harimoto defended relatively well. And Harimoto’s lines were very expansive, with faster linking. By the late fourth game, Lin Yun-Ju chased from 7-10 to 10-all, seeming to break through, finding chances by hammering Harimoto’s forehand. But it was too late.
On gear, the Super Vis’s attack is more deliberate, with a ball-gripping pause, easier to add spin and relatively easier to catch spin, more suited to power players. The Harimoto SALC is more transparent and smooth, with seemingly less bottom power, but higher error-tolerance. In the second singles, Feng Yi-Hsin lost 0-3 to Sora Matsushima — a matter of ability. Feng used the Donic True Carbon Inner-energy, an inner KLC, kiri-core structure. After firing, it is springier than the Harimoto SALC but not as transparent.
2
In the second men’s team semifinal, the opener Wang Chuqin vs Kedun was already very exciting — who knew it was just another appetizer.
Wang Chuqin: Q968, NEO blue national Hurricane, Hurricane 8-20 special. Kedun: Donic Nailiwen, Bluestar A1 on both sides.
They went the full five games. Kedun had almost no transition shots — he fired on every ball. His receive-flick is practically a reflex. Both tried to scatter the other’s focus via serve placement. Wang Chuqin served many long balls to the middle, then linked quickly. Both kept guessing the other’s serve. Wang Chuqin reversed from 1-2 down. The keys: on one hand, Kedun is young with a relatively single rhythm. On the other, Wang Chuqin returned to being himself, playing by his own ideas, just minding to hold one ball first. In the second singles, Lin Shidong lost 0-3 to Felix, but really gave his all. His forehand felt much better than before — progress. But he never received the younger Lebrun’s varied fast-tempo serves well.
3
The real drama unexpectedly came in the third singles, and the plot was so intricate no one expected it. Even if you were bold enough to guess Liang Jingkun would pull off his full-game routine, you could not imagine it unfolding like this. 3-11, 1-11. Liang Jingkun lost the first two games to Alexis. After those two, this man seemed finished — he could not attack to kill, with very many pointless errors, a portrait of poor psychology. Between games, Wang Hao told Dapang (roughly): you have actually already lost; that you can still play is heaven giving you another chance. Unexpectedly, Dapang took it in. Ah — with only 4 points combined in the first two games, you actually took it in. Too bold.
In the third game, Dapang started shouting to pump himself up. By the way, every time Hou Yingchao commentates and calls a turning point, nine times out of ten he is right. At 12-all in the third game, he said this was the turning point. About right. Liang Jingkun won this game 15-13. In the fourth game, Dapang kept holding on in front, not necessarily firing. Even when both fired, neither could kill the opponent. At this point, defense was the best attack. Liang Jingkun fell into a frenzy, gone mad (a compliment) — I suggest everyone rewatch the live recording. So thrilling! If the plot were only this, it would not be dramatic enough. Leading 10-3 in the fourth, Dapang was chased to 10-all. Truly hard to watch. A relaxed Alexis played many unconventional patterns. Fortunately, Dapang held on. 12-10.
The decider was meant to be just continued frenzy and thrills. Unexpectedly, there was an Easter egg. Liang Jingkun led 9-2 by a big margin, then Alexis was penalized by the umpire for the serve, making it 10-2. Salt in the wound. And he even challenged it. Did he think the plot was not absurd enough? The challenge failed, still 10-2. Finally, Liang Jingkun lived up to expectations, settling it 11-2. This match deserves to be called the year’s best reversal, with a plot richer than you can imagine. So full of ups and downs, so thrilling. An epic full-game plot! After watching this reversal, I feared my heart could not take it and rushed off to sleep. Because I believed Wang Chuqin would beat the younger Lebrun in the fourth singles. And indeed he did.