All England Open: Eriko Hirose digs deep to chuck out Adrianti Firdasari in first round encounter
Japan’s talented shuttler Eriko Hirose passed her Women’s Singles first round test when she narrowly defeated her lower ranked opponent Adrianti Firdasari in All England Open Premier Super Series 2012 in Birmingham, England, on Wednesday, March 7.
Hirose, who has been placed at 19th position in Women’s Singles world standings, had to employ all of her skills to overpower the lower ranked Firdasari who is World Number 36 at the moment.
In the opening set, both ladies played well and snapped each other’s heel by keeping the pace at the highest level.
They remained close in the opening half of first game as no one could set up a clear lead until the one-minute interval.
After the break, Firdasari continued her positive run while her higher ranked opponent lost her focus and also remained struggling in controlling the pace of rallies.
Hirose failed to live up to expectations at the concluding phase of first set and lost it with a four-point deficit of 17-21.
Stung by the loss of first set, Hirose fought back in the second game by playing to her maximum potential. She was in complete control and pushed her Indonesian rival in all areas of the court.
Until the break, the higher ranked Japanese was moving far ahead on the score board by playing at her best speed.
After the break, Firdasari tried to reduce the deficit but failed as her opponent was dictating the pace of rallies. The higher ranked Hirose remained on track and took the set with a stunning margin of 21-8.
In the deciding game, both females put up wonderful performance as they played fast and positive badminton and remained close until the one-minute break.
After the interval, they continued playing attacking game and remained close until the score reached at the ending phase.
However, it was Hirose who controlled the pace of rallies at the concluding stage of deciding set and scored ending points to take the set with a tight margin of 21-19.
Hirose emerged as the winner of this three-set contest against the spirited Firdasari with a tight margin of 17-21, 21-8 and 21-19.
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