Korea Open Premier Super Series: Sho Sasaki thrashes Marc Zwiebler in quarter-final showdown
Japan’s in-form shuttler, Sho Sasaki, has proved his superiority in the game as he has thrashed Germany’s Marc Zwiebler in the Men’s Singles quarter-final of the Korea Open Premier Super Series 2012 in Korea, on Friday, January 6.
The World Number Six, Sasaki, who is the sixth seed in the Men’s Singles draw of Korea Open, played to his full potential and tamed Zwiebler in straight games. He took 43 minutes to register victory over his German opponent and secured a berth in semi-final
of the tournament.
In the opening game, both shuttlers snapped each other’s heel until the concluding phase when Sasaki managed to win the game with a decent margin. The second game was also thrilling when both men remained close and again, it was Sasaki who scored the last
point to win the match.
The start of this quarter-final contest was interesting when both shuttlers played with aggression. Zwiebler scored four consecutive points in the start of the first set but failed to maintain the lead as Sasaki played geared up his speed and levelled the
score.
The match progressed closely and the crowd was supporting both shuttlers for their aggressive play. The score was 8-8 when Zwiebler anticipated the strokes of his rival and scored five points in a row to reach at 13-8.
Sasaki changed his tactics and managed to level the score by reaching at 14-14. He did not spare any gap and maintained a good speed until the score reached at 17-17. At this crucial stage, he continued his dominating play and took the set with a 21-18 score
on the board.
In the following set, both players progressed equally in the opening half by remaining toe-to-toe until the break.
The local fans could not have asked for better badminton as both contestants played at their best. The cracking sound of strokes could be heard in the whole indoor arena at Seoul.
Both shuttlers entered into the ending phase without setting up any lead. The score was 20-20 when Sasaki executed attacking strokes and managed to take two consecutive points and won the set with a 22-20 score on the board.
The end result of this quarter-final contest was 21-18 and 22-20.
In the semi-final showdown, Sasaki will be up against China’s Lin Dan, who defeated Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen at the top-8 stage.
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