Tuesday 9 April 2013

Yonex Australian Badminton Open 2013 Final Round-up




Women's Doubles

During the first set, the Indonesian ladies, Vita Marissa and Aprilsasi Variella, led all the way, but as the Thais kept narrowing the deficit until at 18-20, the most experienced and oldest on court, Marissa, sensed it was the moment to up the urgency stakes. She finally wound up and applied the full force of her smash to speed up the game to secure it, 21-19.

This is the second time this week opponents have prevented the Thai youngster with the foundtain of spikey hair, Sapisiree Taerattanachai, playing at the speed she prefers. The Thais were clearing trying to up the ante, but the Indonesians were having none of it. Variella occasionally increased the pace with her forehand smash, and then decreased it again within the same point with her relaxed backhand cross court drop shot, or up the line clear to frustrate the Thais.

Marissa now and then used her mixed doubles pedigree to sneak up and kill unsuspecting shuttles at the net.

Managing her partner Variella's confidence was the key to Marissa winning, as she knew her young partner would then produce a personal best. The Indonesians won in straight sets, 21-15 in the second, and lifted their first title together after being friends for seven years.

Women's Singles


Someone had to win the first set where both players showed their contrasting range of shots. Both showed off wonderful angled shots, Japan's Sayaka Takahashi's mainly turning them down, and Nichaon Jindapon of Thailand, choosing to make hers criss cross the court.

Jindapon executed her trademark cross court net shots to earn three points in the first set and also displayed an untoucahable forehand version to show she can produce brilliance in either direction.

Nevertheless she fell victim to Takahashi's off forehand dropshots at the deuce stage, which she ought to have known by now these shots were lethal and lost, 22-20.

In the second set, Nichaon was choosing all the correct shots but overcooking them wide of the lines. Takahashi, resumed her aggressiveness at the change of ends and walloped a rather average Nichaon on this day to the tune of 21-10.

Mixed Doubles


The third seeded Indonesians, Irfan Fadhilah and Weni Anggraini, were happily implementing their game plan and demonstrating an easy understanding within their own partnership, whereas the seventh seeded Koreans, Shin Baek Cheol and Jang Ye Na, appeared at sea in terms of what to do in the first set, thus going down without much of a fight, 21-14. At this stage, the Indonesians easily read the holes in the court coverage of the Koreans, and as usual Fadhilah executed some very fine shotmaking on his return of mid court shuttles.

In the second set, the Koreans ceased playing inwardly and finally shone. Although, they admit to being a balanced partnership, again this week it would be Shin who decided to steer their strategy. They went to interval one point ahead. Indonesians scrapped to level 12-12, and buoyed by the louder Indonesian supported Fadhilah, turned on the exuberance and hammered the shuttle and also sent a wildly creative drive into his opponents left corner when they were expecting a another hammering.

The Koreans moved Shin to cover the fore and mid courts. He pressed too hard initally which made the score extra tense, but it only took one point to steady up. Shin bought his side game point in the second set. Jang stayed steady, if unremarkable, and bought them another set point opportunity at 23-22, courtesy of a reflex defence a smash came at her face. Shin was predictably the one to seal the deal 24-22 in their favour.

The slow to warm up Koreans finally hit their stride, but it was a case of two versus one because as Fadhilah began to cool by 10 per cent in terms of making inroads, Anggraini rose to the occasion to do strike at Shin. The best Jang could offer was her calm reliable short serving, but Shin was working overtime in the all departments from offense, defence, as well as creating the opportunities.

Eventually the Indonesians caught him out enough times to become victors 21-16 in the rubber.

Men's Doubles


In the all Indonesian final, the second seeded, Angga Pratama and Ryan Saputra, surged ahead at the eleventh hour to take the first set 22-20, against defending champion Hendra Setiawan, and new partner Mohammad Ahsan. The mood was decidedly lukewarm and littered with slight mis-hits and unforced errors on drive and drop shots by both sides as evidenced by the repeated "service over" announcements made by the umpire.

The tallest of the four, Saputra, was effective smashing both from the back and guarding the net, while Setiawan offered creativity in defensive situations, but terrible short serves which landed a couple of inches short. Mohammad Ahsan caught the disease too and therefore gifted the match to Saputra and Pratama. 22-20, 21-19.

Men's Singles


The first game in the all Chinese men's singles final was an illustration of what Xue Song does best, accuracy and dangerous from mid-court foreward, both in crouched defence or murdering any loose shuttles offered up by Tian. It was the kind of unhesitant abilities that eluded Lee Chong Wei yesterday as the nerves built for the Malaysian world number one.

Tian Houwei displayed how much steadier he is than his younger teammate in taking the second set 21-13. By the third game, we saw a different Xue, someone less judicious when to attack and using more brute force and he overplayed to give some points away. At the same time, Tian Houwei also applied brute force. The man with the better defence, Tian, ultimately dominated 21-12.



Source from: australianbadmintonopen