All England Open: Kenichi Tago tames Kazushi Yamada in Men’s Singles round-of-16 showdown
Japan’s Kenichi Tago proved his supremacy as he powered his way into Men’s Singles quarter-final after crushing his team-mate Kazushi Yamada in the round-of-16 at All England Open Premier Super Series 2012 on Thursday, March 8, in England.
The World Number Eight Tago, who is the seventh seed in the tournament, played to his maximum potential and thrashed his compatriot in straight games without taking mush pain.
The higher ranked Tago took just 35 minutes in the court to register a victory over his lower ranked country-mate and advanced into the top-eight stage.
On the other hand, Yamada showed aggression at the initial stage of the match but failed to dominate the pace of game and eventually lost the battle without creating an impact.
In the opening set, both shuttlers put up superb show by playing aggressive game and remained close on score board at the end of first half.
However, after the one-minute break, Tago geared up his speed and started to push his opponent on the back foot.
Yamada could not cope up with the perfection and speed of his higher ranked opponent and remained struggling to find a good flow.
Tago remained positive in the game and did not commit any mistake in the concluding part. He bagged the first set with a four-point difference of 21-17.
In the second game, the un-seeded Yamada again remained close to his higher ranked team-mate until 8-8. At the end of first part, he was three points behind his opponent at 8-11.
After the break, Tago injected more power in his strokes and dominated the pace of rallies with his wonderful craft.
At this stage, Yamada dropped his speed and was also lacking the fighting spirit as he could not dominate the pace of rallies and also failed to break the rhythm of his challenger.
Tago ended the second set with a 21-14 score on the board. He won this 35-minute straight-set battle with an overall margin of 21-17 and 21-14.
In the quarter-final showdown, Tago will be up against Chen Long of China who defeated Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh in a thrilling three-set match at the pre-quarter-final stage.
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