Eric Chan confounds Anthony Chang in opening round of 2012 Australian Closed Championships
Men’s Singles shuttler Eric Chan had a perfect start of Australian Closed Championships Sydney as he overpowered Anthony Chang in the opening round on Wednesday, August 29, 2012.
He took just 28 minutes on the court to register a straight-set victory with a favourable result of 21-13 and 21-18.
Now he will lock horns with a higher ranked campaigner David Jones and win will take him into the pre quarter-final round of the championships.
This meeting will be a real feast for the eyes as Eric Chan is going to utilise his valuable experience and confidence which he has earned through a splendid win in the opening match.
In the first round match, he laid the foundation of his supremacy by ruling the court straight away in the opening game.
He set the ball rolling with a couple of uninterrupted rallies and made the best out of this early advantage in later part of the game.
The opposing shuttler strived hard to narrow the gap but he could not come out of the deficit until mid-game break.
There was sheer disappointment for Anthony Chang also in second half of the set as his challenger did not give him even a single counter-attack opportunity.
Eric Chan strengthened his grip by gathering a few vital points in a row and then magnified the impact with a flurry of well placed strokes.
He transformed this slight edge into an indomitable lead and finished the first set with the score-board flashing 21-13 margin in his favour.
However, things were not that easy in the following game as the suppressed campaigner of previous segment displayed elevated craft and put Eric under huge pressure.
This time Anthony started making progress at top gear and it was felt that he will fetch second match point with great ease.
He confined his competitor to the rear court by launching a series of power packed strokes. He kept up the beating until one-minute interval and finished the first half of the set with a respectable score position.
At this stage, Eric Chan employed all of his brilliance in the game and counter-balanced the situation. He placed a winning figure of 21-18 and marched into second round of the event.
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