Ayane Kurihara brushes aside Sabrina Jaquet in pre-quarter-final of the Russian Open Grand Prix
Japan’s Ayane Kurihara proved her skills by beating Sabrina Jaquet of Switzerland, in the Women’s Singles pre-quarter-final of the 2011 Russian Open Grand Prix, in Russia, on June 30, 2011.
World Number 27, Kurihara, who is the fourth seed in the Women’s singles draw of the Russian Open, won the two-set match in striking fashion by taking a court time of just 38 minutes.
It seems that Japan is catching up with the most dominant nations in the world of badminton including China, Indonesia and Korea, as there are many female shuttlers who are disturbing the smooth sailing of top athletes in different events.
Kurihara is also one of the most talented shuttlers of Japan, who showed no mercy to Sabrina in a straight-game fight. Right from the starting points of the game, Kurihara was successful in building pressure on her opponent by playing smart badminton and
pushing Sabrina in all areas of the court.
However, the Swiss also put up a strong resistance by playing at the same pace, but she was lacking the aggression in her strokes and movement. She was just behind the Japanese at 9-11 at the one-minute break in the first-half of the game.
After the break, Kurihara raised her level of play and stretched the gap of points against an under-pressure Sabrina. The Japanese continued her better play and was consistent in placing the strokes in the right areas. She bagged the opening game by the
score of 21-16, in 22 minutes.
In the second game, Kurihara delivered a stunning performance against the Swiss shuttler, as she dominated proceedings without facing any considerable resistance from her rival. Sabrina tried a little in the start to tackle the aggression of the Japanese,
but she failed to manage the pace of the rallies. Kurihara established a five-point lead in the opening half by reaching 11-6.
After the break she continued doing well in the second game and left no space for the Swiss to place her strokes. Kurihara ended the set with a dramatic 21-10 score, in just 16 minutes. The overall score of this 38-minute contest was 21-16 and 21-10.
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