Febryan Irvannaldi beats Fauzi Adnan in semi-finals of 2013 Victor Walikota Surabaya Cup
Men’s Singles shuttler Febryan Irvannaldi continued his unbeatable run in Victor Walikota Surabaya Cup and marched into the final round on Thursday, May 9, 2013.
He stamped Fauzi Adnan in the semi-final round by sealing a straight-set victory. He wrapped the opening segment of the showdown with 21-19 and then served the notice of his dominance with 21-18 margin.
With this straight-set win, he qualified for the title match where another talented shuttler Adi Pratama will lock horns with him.
In second last round of this tournament, Febryan played impeccable badminton and alarmed his competitor of grand finale.
He laid foundation of his supremacy immediately in the establishing rallies of first set and enjoyed an upper hand all the way to final moments.
At first, he out his challenger under huge pressure by launching an unbeatable series of productive strokes and then doubled the impact by piling up a decent total in no time.
He kept on moving forward at steady pace and finished first half of the set with a favourable score position.
After the mid-game break, he blundered in some consecutive rallies and allowed the opposing shuttler to proceed on the points table.
Fauzi did not fritter away this opportunity and bagged many valuable points in third quarter of the set. He narrowed the gap by prevailing in few back-to-back rallies but then some fatal mistakes put his expedition to halt.
On the other hand, Febryan struck hard when it mattered and tipped the scale in his favour with a staggering knock of 21-19.
There was not an easy ride to victory also in the second set as both contenders pushed each other in all areas of the court and kept the audience intact.
Initially, Febryan relished full benefits of his first set win and prevailed in few back-to-back rallies but then Fauzi showed a transformed character and brought life back into the contest.
At one-minute interval, both shuttlers were standing close on the points table but then Febryan showed his class and gained a decent lead in third quarter of the set.
He maintained a convincing difference until game point situation and locked the honour with 21-18 score.
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