Australian Open GP Gold: Sayaka Sato narrowly beats Lindaweni Fanetri in Women’s Singles first round
Japan’s Sayaka Sato struggled hard in the Women’s Singles first round when she had to employ all of her reserves to beat Indonesia’s Lindaweni Fanetri at 2012 Australian Open GP Gold in Sydney, on Wednesday, April 4.
The World Number 16 Sayaka, who is eighth seed in Women’s Singles draw of the tournament, was severely tested by the talented Indonesian who stretched the match to three games.
However, the higher ranked Japanese managed to bag the deciding set with a close margin and won the contest after working hard for 78 minutes.
It was the longest match of the day where both shuttlers entertained the crowd with a thrilling fight from the start to ending points.
Sayaka was heavy favourite on paper to win this match but Lindaweni made it quite tough for her as she stretched her higher ranked rival to rubber games.
In the first set, both ladies played well in opening rallies and did not let each other to dictate the pace and set up lead. They were close on the board until the one-minute interval in the game.
After the break, Lindaweni played well and started to set up lead. On the other hand, Sayaka failed to live up to expectations in the first set and lost it with a margin of 18-21.
In the second game, both ladies played well in first half as they kept the pace at highest level and remained close until the break.
After the mid-game interval, the score progressed without giving anyone a clear lead and reached at 22-22 when Sayaka showed her skill and managed to bag the set with a 24-22 score on the board.
In the deciding game, the score again was close in the opening half when both shuttlers maintained their elevated play.
However, Sayaka played with precision and managed to control the pace after the one-minute break. She did not commit any mistake at this stage and won the set with a decent score of 21-18.
Sayaka emerged victorious in this 78-minute thrilling encounter with an entertaining margin of 18-21, 24-22 and 21-18.
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