2012 French Open: Ivan Sozonov intercepts Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in qualifying round
Russia’s spirited campaigner Ivan Sozonov raised his chances to excel in the Yonex French Badminton Open after thrashing Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in qualifying round on October 23, 2012.
He took just 27 minutes to seal a straight-set victory with a favourable result of 21-13 and 21-17. This splendid win ensured his presence in the second stage where he will be up against Lukas Schmidt of Germany.
Ivan Sozonov will put an extra effort to power his way to the main draw of this Super Series and his impressive performance in the opening match will help him to the knockout rounds.
The young Russian player employed unusual tactics in his first encounter as he kept a low profile in the beginning and then stunned the opposing shuttler with a brisk attack.
In the establishing rallies of first set, Ivan could not read his challenger’s game and let many valuable points slip from his hands.
The Thai campaigner made the best out of his competitor’s blunders and piled up a mountainous figure of 7 in no time.
However, he could not go with the same flow as Ivan stormed back with a strong reply and levelled the score at 7-7.
He did not lose this pace and placed a respectable total of 11 before the interval. He capitalised this initial lead also in the third quarter of the set and strengthened his grip with 17-11 margin.
This huge difference proved put Tanongsak’s expedition to halt and he lost this crucial game with eight-point deficit in 13-21 total.
The following set proved a replay of previous one as the Russian player put a cautious game plan into action and gradually raised his score to a dominating position until half time.
Both contenders stayed equal until 8-8 but then Ivan made a notable difference by prevailing in seven uninterrupted rallies.
After 15-8 margin, he was everywhere in court as Tanongsak remained busy in just returning his masterly crafted strokes.
Though, the Thai shuttler made a swift progress in final moments but that short campaign did not make any impact.
Ivan maintained a significant lead until game point situation and wrapped this showdown with a striking knock of 21-17.
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