Ma Long vs Fan Zhendong | MS FINAL | 2020 China National Championships

Ma Long vs Fan Zhendong | MS FINAL | 2020 China National Championships
#malong #fanzhendong #tabletennis
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[jk]

Oh my goodness This was some sort of fight.. The match was super intense and absoultely full with entertainment just like 2017 world championships and 2018 asian cup.

Fan zhendong's backhand play became not just stronger but extremely smarter too.. He attacked so many to Ma long's empty room corner to corner and made him lose so many points with that. Especially with that backhand down-the-line shots to Ma long's forehand side.
And also it seems that Ma long's steady backhand isn't enough to handle Fan zhendong's rocket backhand. Most of the points bewteen backhand to backhand rallies were taken by Fan.

However Ma long really gave his best.. There's no doubt about it.

It hurts that Ma long lost this match as his fan, but I am never dissapointed with his performance.

Ma long, you really fought like an king lion.. Always wish you good luck and I appreciate you to make me see the real spirit fight of the highest level of proffesional table tennis player

[KRUIofficial]

This might be the first match I can say that Fan played a tactically more sound game than Ma Long. But firstly, I have got to give Ma major props for his performance, especially knowing all he went through with injuries. The way he played aggressively, and the speed he exhibited were absolutely phenomenal. This is not something we see from him all the time. Even against Wang Chuqin earlier, he didn't go all out. This is why I think this match mattered so much to Ma. He just played so intensely and seemingly gave it his all. And in the end, it was a close game. I feel like it almost came down to who had the greater momentum at the start of each game. With that being said, I feel like there were a couple of things that gave Fan an edge over Ma.
1. Placement. This might have been the biggest factor. There were so many times that Fan very efficiently utilized his backhand down the line to punish Ma for staying too close to the backhand side. He kept the ball short for the most part and pushed it long when he felt he could anticipate Ma's opening attacks and place them back where Ma wasn't standing.
2. Counters. This is a follow-up from the first point. Actually for many of the points, Ma opened the topspin rallies with really elegant forehands. But Fan was always able to return the ball on the table to move Ma around, or he was able to force backhand to backhand rallies where he had the upper hand.
3. Backhand. Wow is honestly how I'd describe it. From service return attacks to backhand rallies, Fan did it all. The versatility in his ability to change the pace and power on the ball as well as directionality was just astonishing. Without the backhand, I think the outcome would have been quite different. On that note, it's actually a testament to Ma's greatness. We all know he was never the most talented from the backhand side, yet he still manages to be the best in table tennis, so that speaks volumes to his other abilities.
4. Playing smart. Fan didn't go all out on every shot. He set up his next attacks and waited for the perfect placement. He made Ma uncomfortable with his backhand and increased power when he needed to. The balance of raw power and intricate placement was a key in this match.

Overall I loved this match, and I think we have all been looking forward to this matchup for some time now, so this was a major treat to watch! When the Olympics happen, there will be so much to look forward to.

[yingpingwang]

That is unbelievable good. Either can win really. Thank you Malong and Xiao Fang, you are my heroes.

[eaglefjwjcir]

Been a while since these legends clashed
What a match
The worlds top 2 are back

[lynnnenyo]

Wide Forehand has been Ma Long's Achilles's heel since he returned from the injury.

[meichoi]

It is always an absolute delight to watch Ma & Fan in whatever their finals are.

[santoshkadam]

Wow... Both are beasts. One of the best match I have ever seen. FZ growing stronger day by day, but respect to ma..

[tabletennisbreakdown]

That was an amazing match. Fan is a great blocker and counter attacker he always waits for ML to initiate the attack and use his power against him. I think ML needs to be patient and pick his shots maybe do some counter attacking of his own because Fan misses a lot when he tries to attack.

[PajakTheBlind]

Watching this made me realize the difference between generations.
Ma Long/Xu Xin seem like the type of players to take the initiative in attack. They'll be deciding that it is now time to switch to an offensive and take the biggest gun in order to overpower you with a forehand you can't handle. Ma Long will more often than not mix in some chop blocks etc. Xu Xin will try to make up with footwork and try to be a resilient wall that always return those insane top/side forehands.
The success FZD has against them in particular is that he is fine with less flashy attacks and being on the receiving/countering end of the game. Like saying, sure throw that insane forehand at me and I'll be waiting in just the right spot to counter you in the direction you can't cover. You want to have a backhand jab fight to somewhat test out waters, not only will I mix up the amount of spin/speed on my backhands but if I feel you fall asleep in that jab fight I'll just wake you up with changing the direction.
Not sure if this was always his style or did he steered in that direction recently.

[aussiekidstv]

Big Z does it again, love this match up but Xu Xin is still the could walker... and Ma long still strong what a team they will make in the Olympics

[deniz_]

06:41 ma longs forhand fake and backhand shot <3

[gustavoc]

Insane match! ML was winning a lot of BH x BH points, an incredible achievement given that it was against FZD. I'm glad Xiao Pang won this one, he just beat 2 of his nemesis.

[tomcruise]

What a match really enjoy it MA LONG🔥🔥🔥🔥

[azrullmasnam]

Great game. ML plays this final game with a lot of attack variation between FH and BH compared to previous style where he execute more FH attack and BH as blocking.

FZD, finally, he got it now. Dare to phishing ML's FH to allow him to block to wide angle and keep positive mind set to aggressive and patience in attacking and blocking.

Congratulations to FZD, after 2 times defeated by ML, he finally made it on 3rd attempt.

[shenqiangshou]

Watching the final few points, you know in the back hand to back hand rallies, that FZD is going to go to ML's forehand, you know it's coming, ML knows it's coming, and yet when it comes, ML just can't get there. Props to FZD. The dragon is showing its age. Still has some fire, but XiaoPang is all grown up.

[yongdeng]

The match should be called” the changing of the guard” ... ML ages quite a bit and FZD will be china’s #1 from now on competing in international but ML is and will always be the champion desertedly so!

[daecke]

Does anyone agree that the camera ankle at 7:35 is the best for table tennis matches?

[ttegg]

No champions here. Just two challengers. Beautiful.

[subhasischattopadhyay]

Latest epic match! Ma crossed the boundaries with many epic shots. It was a win win situation for both the players. Missed Adam Bobrow for the commentary though.

[ZJK]

If there are any 2 players better than this pair I've never seen them...dynamite match