YONEX JAPAN OPEN 2009 - Bao to take on Taufik, women's doubles cheer for Japan

Taufik Hidayat against Bao Chunlai seems like an appealing final, between two of the finest shuttlers of this past decade. But it took some time and energy , for both, to enter the final of the YONEX Japan Open.

Taufik was certainly hoping for a smoother time against his younger compatriot, but Simon Santoso hadn’t beaten Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Lee Chong Wei to just give up that easily in the semi-final.

And he started out with guts and a boss’s attitude against the former World and Olympic champion, clinching the first game 21/13.

Finding more precision into his game and reading Simon’s shot better – the two shuttlers have not trained together since Taufik left Indnesia’s National Training Centre more than 6 months ago – Taufik was then back on top with a similar score in the second game.

At one game all, it was then all about coping with pressure and dealing best with important points. After both players reached 6/6, Taufik moved into high gear and managed to score five points in a row – a margin that would prove to be decisive as he was to win the match 21/18 on his fourth match point – a clear from Simon that went too long.

“It’s never a nice feeling to beat a compatriot but I really want to win here. I’ve lost twice in the final already so I hope I can go further. To play Bao Chunlai or Nguyen (Tien Minh) doesn’t really matter, but I know it will be hard for me to beat Bao. Hopefully it won’t go down to three games,” said Taufik.

If Taufik didn’t care who is opponent would be, Bao Chunlai, on the contrary, clearly showed his preference : he was keen on playing Taufik : “ a great shuttler” he said.

The tall left hander from China beat Tien Minh, from Vietnam, in straight games, but the battle was tougher than the score of 21/15 – 21/16 suggests.

Bao really had to fight hard for his points as Tien Minh’s defense was sharp and fast, and Bao’s smashes often returned even quicker, but patience and a very steady game helped the Chinese enter his first Super Series final since the Aviva Singapore Open last June.

In the women’s singles, Eriko Hirose can stand tall after her gallant effort in her semi-final against China’s Wang Yihan. The Japanese, who had been injured most of the year, put up a great show with an incredible fighting spirit with her usual sweet smile and bowing manners.

Hirose took the first game from Wang, 21/18, but the energy she spent then saw her lose the next two games 8/21 - . “I played well in the first game, using flat drives but then she sped up the pace in the second game and I wasn’t able to keep up from then onwards. It’s common with the top Chinese, and I know that I have to improve both my technics and my stamina still to be at the top again,” said Hirose.

Wang Yihan will be meeting another Wang, but maybe not the one she had expected – Second seed Wang Lin. Instead, she will play against the other rising star, Wang Xin, still a junior in the team. Wang Xin beat Wang Lin in straight games 21/15 – 21/17.

They might have been in the shadow of their compatriots, Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Thomas Laybourn, who clinched the world title in India, while they only scooped bronze, but in Tokyo, the Danish pair of Christinna Pedersen and Joachim Fischer Nielsen have proven they were one of the world’s best.

A Super Series title in Denmark last year, then some semifinals, amongst which one lost in India this summer, and finally, a breakthrough on Asian soil, making it for the first time to the final of an Asian tournament.

On court, they were just bright, putting constant pressure on their opponents, Indonesia’s Nova Widianto-Lilyana Natsir, who found no solution and bowed in straight games 21/18 – 21/12.

“We did put them under constant pressure and it was the key to our success today,” said Joachim. “It’s a good feeling as there isn’t a day where we don’t think about that semi-final in the World Championships, where we were leading 11/6 in the decider and we lost the match,” he added.

Pedersen concurred. “We have learned from this mistake. We now know we can’t just let down at any point and that until the 21 points are scored, the match isn’t over. This is why we’ve remained focused until the very end of the match.”

Fischer-Pedersen will take on Thailand’s Songphon Anugritayawon-Kunchala Voravichitchaikul in the final. The Thaise beat another Indonesia pair Hendra Gunawan-Vita Marissa 21-18, 21-16.

If Eriko Hirose failed to deliver in front of her home fans, Miyuki Maeda-Satoko Suetsuna did not disappoint.

The Japanese duo beat Korea’s 4^th seeds Ha Jung Eun and Kim Min Jung in three tough games, 19/21 – 21/18 – 21/14, but their next opponents, in spite of their relatively low ranking, could be an even worst threat : new pair of Wang Xiaoli and Ma Jin from China, who didn’t have to play until the very end of the match, as Greysia Polii had to withdraw because of a knee injury, very well into the match.

The Chinese were leading 15/10 in the decider when she felt pain in her knee, and after the doctor’s treatment, she tried to play a couple more points but she wasn’t able to retrieve shuttlers and handed the victory over to her opponents.

The final of the men’s doubles should be an exciting one between two attacking pairs. Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan , top seeds and Olympic Champions seem to have gotten back their usual touch when they beat independent compatriots Alven Yulianto Chandra and Hendra Aprida Gunawan in 26 minutes and a score of 21/17 – 21/15.

They will meet their compatriots Rian Sukmawan and Yonathan Dasuki, who stunned former World champions Howard Bach and Tony Gunawan in three games; The US representatives had taken the first game, but the Indonesians then started playing flat game and never lifting up the shuttles, avoiding Gunawan and Bach to place their lethal attack.

The tactic paid off and the younger duo entered their first major final with a final 15/21 – 21/17 – 21/17 success, assuring Indonesia one title at least.

Posted by Lucas Liau on 9:38 AM. Filed under News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0