European Universities Games: Vladimir Malkov tames Christoph Heiniger in Men’s Singles quarter-final
Vladimir Malkov, an experienced shuttler from Russia, continued his smooth ride and reached into Men’s Singles semi-final after taming Switzerland’s Christoph Heiniger in quarter-final showdown at the European Universities Games-Badminton Individual Tournament 2012 in Spain, on Monday, July 16.
Malkov, who is top seed in Men’s Singles draw of the championship, was on a different level as he played with control and easily proved his elevated skills against his lower ranked opponent Heiniger in an emphatic fashion.
Top seeded Malkov played with impressive confidence as he did let his rival to get into strong position at any stage in the whole contest and won it in straight games with an inspiring margin on the board.
Sixth-seeded Heiniger, on the other hand, failed to prove his class on court as he could not cope up with the impressive skills of his higher ranked Russian opponent and knelt down against him in just 36 minutes without snatching any set.
The impressive Malkov was pretty much in control from the opening rallies and he dictated Heiniger in all corners with his perfect drives.
Until the one-minute break in opening game, the top seeded Malkov was in good position as he took a tremendous lead.
Malkov continued playing at the same speed and also played attacking badminton aiming to maintain pressure on his rival.
The Russian did not show mercy to his lower ranked Swiss opponent in opening set of this quarter-final clash and bagged it easily with a huge 21-13 difference on score board.
In the following set, Heiniger showed a little aggression in opening rallies when he employed powerful smashed coupled with fast pushes but failed to shake the confidence of his Russian challenger who showed his staggering skills in defensive shots.
Higher ranked Malkov easily managed a spectacular lead on the board until the mid-game interval.
After the break, Malkov remained composed on court as he did not execute hasty shots and eventually ended up the second game with an impressive score of 21-13.
The in-form Malkov finished off the quarter-final clash in just 36 minutes with a staggering 21-13 and 21-13 score on the board.
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