Post by burnabyjo on Apr 2, 2024 19:17:18 GMT -5
We can talk about who beat who, win %, quality of wins etc. But at the end of the day Cuban's made back to back finals above all the other teams that are fighting for the last couple olympic spots. Plenty of teams that are desperate for a finish like these at this point in the qualifying period and they did it in back to back weekends.
Chase/Miles finished 4th and 5th in the same two events where Cuba finished 2nd twice. By your standard, that means Cuba outplayed them. But both teams were eliminated by Evandro in Recife and Andre in Saquarema. Chase/Miles just had bad luck in the draw. Other than bad luck in the draw they have outplayed Cuba this year, including qualifying in Doha, when Cuba didn't come close.
An even easier example is the Verge-Depre sisters. Both have a 9th and a 5th in Challenges this year, so dead even. But Anouk got 9th in Doha and Esme was 13th. That result might mean Anouk qualifies and Esme stays home for Paris.
In Doha, Anouk went 0-3 with a forfeit win. She had a game record of 1-6
Esme went 1-2 and beat the team that won the event. She also took a game off TKN and had a game record of 4-4
Maybe Cuba did outplay Chase and Miles? Andre/George rolled Chase/Miles 21-17 21-13 in the QF (those are the games you despise at the olympics) meanwhile the final vs Cuba came down to the wire and Cuba had match point in their hands. In playoff and elimination games Cuba was 2-0 last two weekends vs Bellos while Chase/Miles were 0-1. Both teams got crushed by Evandro but Chase and Miles took a set off of them... Chase and Miles did look good in Doha, they were close with 3x top 10 teams and had their chances. It would be fun to see Chase/Miles vs Alayo/Diaz. I could see that one going either way but if they play in Tepic or Guadalajara I don't know how effective the big serves are going to be. The young guns are definitely due for a let down as well after this high but I hope not.