I don't think Ma Long choked. Just because you're up 10-4 doesn't mean you win the next point automatically. Look how well Zhang played those 4 points before Ma won the game.
For all those commenting on how Zhang would have won if he was not injured/had better forehand/etc, don't you think it's a bit disrespectful toward Ma Long because such a match has not actually happened? In fact Ma Long played Zhang 3 times this year, winning all of them, but after each match people talked about how Zhang didn't perform his best due to various reasons. Yes Zhang had injuries and other issues, but I feel really bad for Ma Long here, who kept in form all the time, did his best in every tournament big or small, showed excellent results, but is under-appreciated simply because his rival does not play his best all the time. Playing consistently at a high level without getting injured often is also a big part of the sport IMO.
+Logan Herman Zhang Jike is not unbeatable. Nobody is. Because a player's level varies over time, it's unfair to compare one player's peak with another player's average (who's to say that ZJK's opponent here was at his best?). There's also a lot of other factors involved in winning a match: the opponent's performance, playing style match-ups, psychology, energy drained in earlier rounds, elements of luck, etc. Nobody can win all the time. If someone says that ZJK is unbeatable when he's motivated, another may equally say that Ma Long is unbeatable when he's not nervous, but the problem is, they don't happen at the same time. That's why I don't think we should generalize. It doesn't matter how prestigious it is, winning one tournament only means that the player was unbeatable in that particular tournament, against those opponents that he played against...
+Logan Herman Btw, I like Zhang Jike very much (and Ma Long, too), so I'm definitely not trying to undermine his achievements. I just sometimes feel that Ma Long's strengths/achievements have not been recognized in a fair way...
+Atm Tam Perhaps I didn't make it clear that WHEN Zhang Jike is in form, he is unbeatable. In 2011-2013 he was on top of the world while Ma Long was struggling to win anything really big. I simply meant to say this to contrast how now his level is mediocre while Ma Long is in form. You are absolutely correct, though.
Happy to see zhang jike rising again as one of the best athlets. He is certainly getting much better than before. Wish seeing him at the olympic again!
I wonder what all the people who were saying "Zhang Jike should stop playing.", "Zhang Jike is done." or "Zhang Jike can't play anymore" have to say about this. He didn't win but displayed excellent table tennis.
Interesting match.A (bad) Zhang Jike is still better against am long than any other player in top form right now.Also ma long had shown a better mental game,but choked again in this match.Zjk backhand is still the best one imo,but his forehand is bad due to his injuries
But he still was able to take a lot of points from ma long when flipping to his forehand with his insane wrist action.I think he lost the backhand backhand encounters because of his injuries.You have to always move when hitting backhands and it is were demanding fore the back and abs
+greenLinkLP You do realize Ma Long was injured as well. Neck injury. Ma Long will always be the better player though because even when Zhang was in Top Form, Ma Long 4-0ed him. It's just pure amazement how any Chinese player that's injuried, is still better than other Top Ranked players.
I have to disagree.Zjks injuries are a way bigger disadvantage that ma longs neck injury.It didn't even affect his game.Have you watched him vs fzd.He played on his usual level.When did he beat zjk 4:0 when zjk was in top form?I only remember zjk beating ma 2014 even though he was not even close to a "good"form.Ma long definitely owns 2015,but he showed weak points in this match.All in all it will be interesting.If my and Zhang meet in rio ill bet zjk will win.
Zhang jike obviously made too much mistakes, but I somehow think he did not try his best in this match. I think this is a strategy for Rio olympic for not showing his best now.
Interesting you say that. I JUST (literally, got it 4 days ago bought his signature blade to try it out... Haha... Guess he's also trying something new..
Stop with all the excuses people. Why is it so difficult for you to admit that Ma Long is better than Zhang Jike?? The reason Ma Long beat ZJK is simply because he's better, that's it. If you're still in denial please take some time and lookup their career head to head record :). You will find that Ma Long has a winning record vs Zhang Jike, and its quite a comfortable advantage.
+BestEquipmentShots Ok, lol. Lets forget about their head to head record. Ma Long has now also won every major. He's only missing the Olympic title. If you compare their career titles Ma Long has won more titles overall. If you compare their record vs the rest of the field Ma Long has a significantly better record. Ma Long's winning percentage is higher. In every statistical category Ma Long is better, lol. It's fine that Zhang Jike is your favorite player, but there's no logical way you can argue that Ma Long is not better than Zhang Jike.
It's all about titles. ZJK has 1 more World title and an Olympic Gold medal. You can win all the pro tour events you want, but I'd rather have the big ones.
+BestEquipmentShots all the majors? so what? the bastard got lucky twice at the world championsips cause ma long choked against wang hao who by the way was way past his prime. Yes ZJK is a very good player with amazing footwork. But talk abut being the luckiest and the most arrogant champion in history. Please watch the singles medal ceremony at the 2015 championships and see what ZJK does for a bronze medalist. Not so lucky in 2015. Tried to go for doubles and singles gold and got injured. Thank god he did otherwise would have gotten an amazing ass drilling from Ma long
So you're saying that he would have lost both times to Ma Long if he had gotten past Wang Hao? That's what lets him down his mental strength. He probably would have choked against ZJK is the final too. I know you can say that he finally won the big one but he didn't face Xu Xin or ZJK. Yes he got injured if he hadn't he had a good chance for a 3rd title in a row. It's 50/50 between the two ML beat him in the match we are commenting on yet ZJK crushed him in the recent Chinese trials.
it seems malong a little bit stress and not so confident when play with zhang jk, ZJk still has powerful backhand skill. i believe if he was not injury malong will get trouble with him a lot
poor ZJK, I wanna hear what statement will be the reason of ZJK to cover this lost to ma long ?? Injured ?? Bad adaptation to new ball ?? the main reason for me is "Ma long is better than ZJK right now"
+Arth Sagara haha, he is better than last few moths already dude, keep looking forward to his performance. :) Is obvious he is still not yet fully recover from his injury, but the mental strength and his experience drive him to play the matches now. However according to head coach Liu, he not really explore much advance skills to adapt in new plastic ball matches. Nowadays, the ball is bounced slower, lesser spin and drop faster which required the players stay closer to table to initiate the rally, hit more with more strength and prepare for continuous long rally. ZJK definitely still have the strength but with the injury he can't really relax to use it right now, and he can't take advantage with the spin he generated like last time, as you see his inconsistence forehand and lesser advantage in backhand rally cause him lost many points. However, he is now trying his best to change and improve now. Besides, we cannot deny Ma Long is the best players right now with his all rounded skills. No doubt, "Ma long is better than ZJK right now". He create his era with his effort and abilities, looking forward to Rio 2016.
is anyone know why ZJK so sad during every match these days, not like him as before. i heard that he has pressure by media and national team and his team in china super league has betrayed him but not sure about that
+Tuong Hoang There was a cascade of events. Zhang had been fighting injuries for a long time now, but he got particularly badly injured during the WTTC, after which he couldn't even stand up. And then the Super League dispute happened, where his club didn't trust him and refused to sign his contract unless he could prove himself by delivering good results. Zhang ended up boycotting a lot of matches and missing pretty much the entire season. During this time he also played in the China Open, where he didn't perform well due to a lack of practice. (lost to Chuang Chih Yuan in an early round) Right after his loss, he didn't handle his interview with the Chinese media well and received a lot of criticisms. (They were asking him irrelevant questions about another sports star, and Zhang basically said he didn't care, but somehow this was tweaked into something more controversial in the news report...) LGL was also quite harsh on him during media interviews. He was talking about how Zhang should not take his Rio spot for granted and was praising Fan Zhendong's incredible performance in the Super League whenever possible. I think all of these events affected Zhang mentally, and he couldn't concentrate in his training and in matches, and ended up losing even more. Now the CNT is starting to put more resources into helping him regain his form and adapt to the new ball better. Hopefully things are going in the better direction now.
Can't really compare on some levels. They are like my friend and I he is the inconsistent player like zjk who can play so good but lose to players he have to beat. While I'm more like ml and plays my level all the time. All most never loses to players weaker than me
ZJK`s forehand is horrible I think. Lots of unforced errors with his forehand and not able to create much power against Ma Long. But his backhand over the table is just beautiful!
+Vincent Adulfo Stop with all the excuses people. Why is it so difficult for you to admit that Ma Long is better than Zhang Jike?? The reason Ma Long beat ZJK is simply because he's better, that's it. If you're still in denial please take some time and lookup their career head to head record :). You will find that Ma Long has a winning record vs Zhang Jike, and its quite a comfortable advantage.
lateesjp well...that escalated quickly. relax mate ma long was better in this game no doubt. dont get excited , nobody said tha zhang lost because of the ball
In my opinion, Zhang jike is losing his chance to Rio Olympics. Overall Ma long is better than Zhang(there were big 13 matches between them and Ma got 9). Xu xin will be double player since his excellent performance. Fan zhengdong has high possibility to Rio for his first time Olympics road. They all best top players including Zhang jike.
If Zhang had recovered sufficiently enough to play that gorgeous forehand, he would have definitely done in Ma Long! Ma really seems uncomfortable fighting Zhang.
+Detherocable Stop with all the excuses people. Why is it so difficult for you to admit that Ma Long is better than Zhang Jike?? The reason Ma Long beat ZJK is simply because he's better, that's it. If you're still in denial please take some time and lookup their career head to head record :). You will find that Ma Long has a winning record vs Zhang Jike, and its quite a comfortable advantage.
This video was created by ttlondon2012 exclusively for the ITTF!
gj
+ttlondon2012 Can you lower the volume of the opening intro animation? I can't bare the scare anymore...
+ttlondon2012 please, make lower intro music!
Can you please place the score in a position that does not block one of the players!?
At 10-4 Zhang Jike still fights his best
Good Zhang Jike. That's better than last 4-5 months.
I don't think Ma Long choked. Just because you're up 10-4 doesn't mean you win the next point automatically. Look how well Zhang played those 4 points before Ma won the game.
For all those commenting on how Zhang would have won if he was not injured/had better forehand/etc, don't you think it's a bit disrespectful toward Ma Long because such a match has not actually happened?
In fact Ma Long played Zhang 3 times this year, winning all of them, but after each match people talked about how Zhang didn't perform his best due to various reasons. Yes Zhang had injuries and other issues, but I feel really bad for Ma Long here, who kept in form all the time, did his best in every tournament big or small, showed excellent results, but is under-appreciated simply because his rival does not play his best all the time. Playing consistently at a high level without getting injured often is also a big part of the sport IMO.
+Atm Tam cannot agree more
+Atm Tam You are absolutely right, but this is likely because we have seen what ZJK can do when he is in form and motivated. He is unbeatable.
+Logan Herman
Zhang Jike is not unbeatable. Nobody is. Because a player's level varies over time, it's unfair to compare one player's peak with another player's average (who's to say that ZJK's opponent here was at his best?).
There's also a lot of other factors involved in winning a match: the opponent's performance, playing style match-ups, psychology, energy drained in earlier rounds, elements of luck, etc. Nobody can win all the time. If someone says that ZJK is unbeatable when he's motivated, another may equally say that Ma Long is unbeatable when he's not nervous, but the problem is, they don't happen at the same time. That's why I don't think we should generalize. It doesn't matter how prestigious it is, winning one tournament only means that the player was unbeatable in that particular tournament, against those opponents that he played against...
+Logan Herman
Btw, I like Zhang Jike very much (and Ma Long, too), so I'm definitely not trying to undermine his achievements. I just sometimes feel that Ma Long's strengths/achievements have not been recognized in a fair way...
+Atm Tam Perhaps I didn't make it clear that WHEN Zhang Jike is in form, he is unbeatable. In 2011-2013 he was on top of the world while Ma Long was struggling to win anything really big. I simply meant to say this to contrast how now his level is mediocre while Ma Long is in form. You are absolutely correct, though.
Happy to see zhang jike rising again as one of the best athlets. He is certainly getting much better than before. Wish seeing him at the olympic again!
Classy match with no cho-ing.
I wonder what all the people who were saying "Zhang Jike should stop playing.", "Zhang Jike is done." or "Zhang Jike can't play anymore" have to say about this. He didn't win but displayed excellent table tennis.
Who can motivate ZJK more than ML? Nobody.
bring this angle back, WTT
ZJK's backhand is pure D O P E !!! What a legend
Bisa di donwload vidionya
god ma long
繼科招牌的擰球沒得太多分數，太想要一板致命。相比之下，馬龍銜接流暢許多，速度上一直壓制繼科。
Zhang is my idol
too many unforced errors by zhang. ma still chokes even though he is the world champ, great game by these two once again
Interesting match.A (bad) Zhang Jike is still better against am long than any other player in top form right now.Also ma long had shown a better mental game,but choked again in this match.Zjk backhand is still the best one imo,but his forehand is bad due to his injuries
But he still was able to take a lot of points from ma long when flipping to his forehand with his insane wrist action.I think he lost the backhand backhand encounters because of his injuries.You have to always move when hitting backhands and it is were demanding fore the back and abs
+greenLinkLP You do realize Ma Long was injured as well. Neck injury. Ma Long will always be the better player though because even when Zhang was in Top Form, Ma Long 4-0ed him. It's just pure amazement how any Chinese player that's injuried, is still better than other Top Ranked players.
I have to disagree.Zjks injuries are a way bigger disadvantage that ma longs neck injury.It didn't even affect his game.Have you watched him vs fzd.He played on his usual level.When did he beat zjk 4:0 when zjk was in top form?I only remember zjk beating ma 2014 even though he was not even close to a "good"form.Ma long definitely owns 2015,but he showed weak points in this match.All in all it will be interesting.If my and Zhang meet in rio ill bet zjk will win.
+greenLinkLP zjk did lose to ma long 0-4 in Asian Championship (there's vid on CZcams).
But was zjk in top form?
ZJK still has a champion's nerve. But he is slower than ML now. That slight agility difference is going to change the result.
is zhang using the Viscaria here?
Sad for jike.
But this game is nice
Jike! your fore hand is more powerful!!!!! I like your powerful fore hand!
Ma Long was not playing at his wttc form, probably because of his neck injury. I hope he will get there soon.
zjks forehand was too inconsistent
zhang jike que paso no lo llevaste ni al tercer round! ma long eres buenaso
Zhang jike obviously made too much mistakes, but I somehow think he did not try his best in this match. I think this is a strategy for Rio olympic for not showing his best now.
Zhang Jike ♥
Malong,the best forehand in the world!
Anyone knows what blade is Jike using??? Btw, great match between these good friends... Happy to see Jike back progressively...
+Cesar Gonzalez Viscaria FL
Thx bro...
+Cesar Gonzalez No problem. I play with this blade. ;)
Interesting you say that. I JUST (literally, got it 4 days ago bought his signature blade to try it out... Haha... Guess he's also trying something new..
What blade did you get ?Zhang jike blade series?He played with viscaria for years
I can't believe these ITTF vids can't put the score in a place that doesn't block one of the players.
马龙一如既往的好状态，张继科是不是因为伤还没好？整个比赛正手短球不敢挑，长球对拉失误多，感觉就是放不开。
Stop with all the excuses people. Why is it so difficult for you to admit that Ma Long is better than Zhang Jike?? The reason Ma Long beat ZJK is simply because he's better, that's it. If you're still in denial please take some time and lookup their career head to head record :). You will find that Ma Long has a winning record vs Zhang Jike, and its quite a comfortable advantage.
+lateesjp That doesn't make him better. I'd rather have a worse record against someone and win all the majors like ZJK has done.
+BestEquipmentShots Ok, lol. Lets forget about their head to head record. Ma Long has now also won every major. He's only missing the Olympic title. If you compare their career titles Ma Long has won more titles overall. If you compare their record vs the rest of the field Ma Long has a significantly better record. Ma Long's winning percentage is higher. In every statistical category Ma Long is better, lol. It's fine that Zhang Jike is your favorite player, but there's no logical way you can argue that Ma Long is not better than Zhang Jike.
It's all about titles. ZJK has 1 more World title and an Olympic Gold medal. You can win all the pro tour events you want, but I'd rather have the big ones.
+BestEquipmentShots all the majors? so what?
the bastard got lucky twice at the world championsips cause ma long choked against wang hao who by the way was way past his prime.
Yes ZJK is a very good player with amazing footwork. But talk abut being the luckiest and the most arrogant champion in history.
Please watch the singles medal ceremony at the 2015 championships and see what ZJK does for a bronze medalist.
Not so lucky in 2015. Tried to go for doubles and singles gold and got injured.
Thank god he did otherwise would have gotten an amazing ass drilling from Ma long
So you're saying that he would have lost both times to Ma Long if he had gotten past Wang Hao? That's what lets him down his mental strength. He probably would have choked against ZJK is the final too. I know you can say that he finally won the big one but he didn't face Xu Xin or ZJK. Yes he got injured if he hadn't he had a good chance for a 3rd title in a row. It's 50/50 between the two ML beat him in the match we are commenting on yet ZJK crushed him in the recent Chinese trials.
I thought after the fourth game that perhaps the Dragon might have to make way for the Tibetan Mastiff.... Alas, it was not to be.
it seems malong a little bit stress and not so confident when play with zhang jk, ZJk still has powerful backhand skill. i believe if he was not injury malong will get trouble with him a lot
That small cars on the umpire's desk tho... why...
poor ZJK, I wanna hear what statement will be the reason of ZJK to cover this lost to ma long ?? Injured ?? Bad adaptation to new ball ?? the main reason for me is "Ma long is better than ZJK right now"
+Arth Sagara haha, he is better than last few moths already dude, keep looking forward to his performance. :) Is obvious he is still not yet fully recover from his injury, but the mental strength and his experience drive him to play the matches now. However according to head coach Liu, he not really explore much advance skills to adapt in new plastic ball matches. Nowadays, the ball is bounced slower, lesser spin and drop faster which required the players stay closer to table to initiate the rally, hit more with more strength and prepare for continuous long rally. ZJK definitely still have the strength but with the injury he can't really relax to use it right now, and he can't take advantage with the spin he generated like last time, as you see his inconsistence forehand and lesser advantage in backhand rally cause him lost many points. However, he is now trying his best to change and improve now. Besides, we cannot deny Ma Long is the best players right now with his all rounded skills. No doubt, "Ma long is better than ZJK right now". He create his era with his effort and abilities, looking forward to Rio 2016.
is anyone know why ZJK so sad during every match these days, not like him as before. i heard that he has pressure by media and national team and his team in china super league has betrayed him but not sure about that
+Tuong Hoang There was a cascade of events. Zhang had been fighting injuries for a long time now, but he got particularly badly injured during the WTTC, after which he couldn't even stand up.
And then the Super League dispute happened, where his club didn't trust him and refused to sign his contract unless he could prove himself by delivering good results. Zhang ended up boycotting a lot of matches and missing pretty much the entire season.
During this time he also played in the China Open, where he didn't perform well due to a lack of practice. (lost to Chuang Chih Yuan in an early round) Right after his loss, he didn't handle his interview with the Chinese media well and received a lot of criticisms. (They were asking him irrelevant questions about another sports star, and Zhang basically said he didn't care, but somehow this was tweaked into something more controversial in the news report...)
LGL was also quite harsh on him during media interviews. He was talking about how Zhang should not take his Rio spot for granted and was praising Fan Zhendong's incredible performance in the Super League whenever possible.
I think all of these events affected Zhang mentally, and he couldn't concentrate in his training and in matches, and ended up losing even more. Now the CNT is starting to put more resources into helping him regain his form and adapt to the new ball better. Hopefully things are going in the better direction now.
+Atm Tam thanks a lot for your answer
yeah, I fell like he is not always happy.
Can't really compare on some levels. They are like my friend and I he is the inconsistent player like zjk who can play so good but lose to players he have to beat. While I'm more like ml and plays my level all the time. All most never loses to players weaker than me
This video was created by me exclusively for the ITTF!
Ma Long's serve is better than ZJK. ZJK throws the ball backwards too much, which is not complying to the rule.
ZJK`s forehand is horrible I think. Lots of unforced errors with his forehand and not able to create much power against Ma Long. But his backhand over the table is just beautiful!
I have a feeling they hate that particular ball
That's been Zhang Jike's problem. I don't think he has adapted to the new ball
+Vincent Adulfo they both play well with the new ball. zhang is still recovering from injuries.
+Vincent Adulfo Stop with all the excuses people. Why is it so difficult for you to admit that Ma Long is better than Zhang Jike?? The reason Ma Long beat ZJK is simply because he's better, that's it. If you're still in denial please take some time and lookup their career head to head record :). You will find that Ma Long has a winning record vs Zhang Jike, and its quite a comfortable advantage.
lateesjp well...that escalated quickly. relax mate ma long was better in this game no doubt. dont get excited , nobody said tha zhang lost because of the ball
+George D. Yea I was just saying I bet neither of them like the ball
Zhang jike"s technique is better than Ma Long IMO.but Ma Long is too damn fast.and that makes him a god.
In my opinion, Zhang jike is losing his chance to Rio Olympics. Overall Ma long is better than Zhang(there were big 13 matches between them and Ma got 9). Xu xin will be double player since his excellent performance. Fan zhengdong has high possibility to Rio for his first time Olympics road.
They all best top players including Zhang jike.
+Michael Lee How do you even "play dirty" in table tennis?
If Zhang had recovered sufficiently enough to play that gorgeous forehand, he would have definitely done in Ma Long!
Ma really seems uncomfortable fighting Zhang.
+Detherocable Stop with all the excuses people. Why is it so difficult for you to admit that Ma Long is better than Zhang Jike?? The reason Ma Long beat ZJK is simply because he's better, that's it. If you're still in denial please take some time and lookup their career head to head record :). You will find that Ma Long has a winning record vs Zhang Jike, and its quite a comfortable advantage.
MA LONG #1 nobody like he ! ! !
i can beat him