Kenichi Hayakawa, Misaki Matsutomo cast out Toby Ng, Grace Gao in semi-finals - US Open Update
Japan’s Mixed Doubles campaigners Kenichi Hayakawa and Misaki Matsutomo marched into final round of Yonex OCBC US Open GPG after beating Toby Ng-Grace Gao on July 6, 2012.
This semi-final tussle was staged in Orange County Badminton Club of Los Angeles and both contenders made the crowd gasp with their breath taking performance during the 45-minute fight.
They pushed each other all the way to final set and this race ended with concluding margin of 21-18, 15-21 and 21-19.
World Number 46 duo Kenichi-Misaki played impeccable badminton in opening and closing segments of the match while the opposing team could live up to its billing only in the second set.
The battle heated up straight away in the beginning when both teams made every effort to gain an early advantage but the Japanese duo excelled by a hair's breadth.
They dominated the first half of the opening game and placed a mountainous total of 11-5 before the mid-game break.
Later part of the game started with an intensive response of Toby-Grace which resulted in tight margin of 10-11.
The Canadian shuttlers kept battling vigorously in next couple of rallies but four consecutive points took the opposing team to a dominating position of 19-13.
Though, Kenichi and Misaki blundered in final moments but still they managed to bag first set with a decisive figure of 21-18.
However, luck was not on their side in following game as they lost crucial set with a notable deficit of six points.
This time Toby and Grace did not lose grip at any stage and enjoyed a smooth ride to victory. They built pressure with a striking total of 11-2 before half time and then maintained the upper hand all the way to game point situation.
After the interval, they gathered some pace to finish second set with a favourable 21-15 score on the board.
Third set, as expected, proved to be a nerve-racking contest but the Japanese couple locked the honour by wrapping the show with a staggering knock of 21-19.
Now, the winning team will test its skills against unseeded pair Tony Gunawan-Vita Marissa in the title match of this Grand Prix Gold event.
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