Chen Long beats Lee Hyun Il to surge into Men’s Singles semi-final of China Masters Super Series
China’s young shuttler, Chen Long advanced into the Men’s Singles semi-final after beating experienced shuttler, Lee Hyun Il of Korea in the quarter-final of the 2011 China Master Super Series, in China, on Friday, September 16.
Long is known for his aggressive style of play and is currently placed at Number Four in the Men’s Singles world standings. He is seeded at number three in the main draw of the championship. The Chinese won his battle against the Korean in straight games
by working hard for 52 minutes.
The spirited Chinese played a remarkable game against the experienced Lee Hyun and established a comfortable lead. He was not missing any chance of hitting the bird down to the ground with his impressive jump smashes, coupled with beautiful tumbling net
shots. Until the interval, the Chinese reached at 11-4 without wasting any time.
After the break, Long adopted a defensive approach and remained positive while his opponent was committing unforced errors by hitting the bird out of the court. The planned game of the Chinese earned him the first set with a one-sided score of 21-10, in
18 minutes.
The second set was a scintillating fight between the two elite shuttlers, and the score in the game progressed slowly as a result of long rallies. Both players tried to avoid unforced errors and remained close until the end of the first part of the set.
In the second-half, the score again remained close and reached at 20-20. At this crucial stage, the Chinese changed his tactics and stopped to lift the bird high in the air. He played many repeated net shots to get a lose lift. His positive and smart play
earned him opportunities to finish the set with a 22-20 margin. The semi-final battled finished-off with a 21-10 and 22-20 score, in 52 minutes.
In the semi-final showdown, the third seed Chinese will face the winner of the encounter between Peter Hoeg Gade of Denmark and Duss Pengyu of China.
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