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In the 2025 World Tour finals group
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stage, Christo Popov delivered a master
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class on how to play without the spin
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net against Anders and Thompson.
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If your spin net is not very good or
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your opponent has an amazing spin net,
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you can learn from Chris Popov's game
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against Anders Anton where he won pretty
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much without playing tight to the net.
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Might be enough. Let's take a look at
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the match between Christo Popov and
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Anders Antinson in the 2025 World Tour
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Finals Group stage that had both players
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Before we get into this video, just want
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to say that this video will be the first
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of what should be multiple videos on the
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2025 World Tour Finals.
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And to make these videos, we have
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partnered with NordVPN.
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If you guys want to watch the full BWF
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live streams of the 2025 World Tour
1:04
finals on YouTube, but you can't, it's
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probably because it's geoblocked in your
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With NordVPN, however, you can bypass
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some of these restrictions and keep your
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Check out NordVPN at the link on screen
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here and get 75% off. Now, let's get
1:27
In the 2025 World Tour Finals Group
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stage match between Christo Popov and
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Anders Anonson, Kristo played a game
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that revolved around playing fast shots
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deep into the court and avoiding shots
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When you play far blocks and faster
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shots in general, you make it difficult
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for your opponent to control the shuttle
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and force it very tight to the net. game
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This is exactly what Kristo was doing
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against Antonson and it paid off.
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Rarely did Antonson ever get to initiate
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the spin net, nor did Christo play the
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shot himself. In fact, in the whole
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match, Kristo played spin nets or tight
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straight nets 37 times out of the 107
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So, what was he doing instead?
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Well, whenever Christa was early to the
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shuttle in the front court,
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his shot choice was to generally drive,
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In the back court, he went for smashes
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When he was late, his choice was to
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generally high lift or clear.
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Playing this way ultimately turns the
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game into a battle of power and speed.
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And is being a bit too careful.
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The fast shots make it difficult for
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Antonson to play any sort of deception
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or use his holds, which meant the match
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was decided by whoever could take the
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shuttle earlier and put more pressure on
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to create the angle of that smash.
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To take a deeper look at how Christo
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played against Antonson in this match,
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we can look at some of the effective
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shot combos Christo used to dismantle
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Sometimes playing with the front out can
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make the court feel smaller and easier
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for your opponent to move around,
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but that's not the case if you play like
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Christo's breadandbut combo was to push
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Anton to the back court and then follow
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with a quick cross net. This shot combo
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works extremely well because the speed
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forces Antonson to turn quickly and
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expend a lot of energy doing so.
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And because Antonson recognizes this
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need to recover quickly and prepare for
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Christo's occasional deception on a
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straight repush worked extremely well.
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Another combo that worked well for
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Kristo was to play a fast shot at his
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opponent and then start moving up almost
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like he was playing doubles.
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The idea was to anticipate the block
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back and attack using drives.
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This works because most players when
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will instinctively play a softer block.
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And the case is no different with
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To copy the way Kristo played, we want
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to emphasize the focus on speed and
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taking the shuttle early. This is a big
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reason why Christo was slipping. from
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court conditions aside
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as he's moving at his fastest speed
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to take the shuttle early
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and go for attacking shots.
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So, how does one actually move fast?
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Well, aside from having strong legs and
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fast footwork, we want to highlight how
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quickly Kristo recovers, particularly in
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regards with his upper body.
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When you play a fast shot, you should
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expect to see a fast shot coming back as
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by having good body control.
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You can react right away to the next
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shot and maintain pressure.
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Pac is going up here.
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This is exactly what Christo did so well
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in the first and third games.
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And we can contrast his body control
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from those games to his second one that
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he lost. In the second game,
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there were signs that he was playing
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more relaxed and less focused
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without that quickness in his body
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He wasn't able to continue mounting the
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pressure on Antonson as he did in the
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It's also why Christo began playing the
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net more in the second game.
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When you play a block from a low contact
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point, you kind of have to play the shot
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tight to the net. As if you add force
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and try to block from low, you'll end up
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hitting it into the net
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or giving net kill opportunities.
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It should be noted that body control
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isn't always a strength issue either.
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A lot of it is about your mental and
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focus and just building good habits.
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Trying to absorb that Anderson attack
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Anyway, we'll keep this video shorter
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than what you'll typically see from us
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as hopefully this will turn into a short
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miniseries where we cover multiple games
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from the 2025 World Tour finals instead
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of just one or two finals. 10.
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There's a lot to talk about for each
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individual player in match,
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but we'll focus on some of the most
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notable things to watch for in each
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it was how Christo essentially
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eliminated the front court and played a
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fast attacking style for a three- set
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win over Ander San Anton.
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If you like this video, make sure to hit
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the like and subscribe button so you
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don't miss out. Let us know if there are
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any specific 2025 World Tour Finals
6:42
matches or other videos you would like
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to see in the comments below.
