Li Xuerui overwhelms Petya Nedelcheva in first round – India Open Update
Women’s Singles campaigner of China, Li Xuerui cleared her first hurdle in Yonex Sunrise India Open and edged Petya Nedelcheva of Bulgaria in opening round on April 25, 2012.
The talented Li Xuerui reserved her right to be in the second round by registering final figures of 21-17, 18-21 and 21-12.
World Number four shuttler dominated in most part of the 51-minute tussle however her lower ranked challenger also performed beyond expectations and earned great deal of admiration for showing a strong character in her short run in the India Open.
In opening game of the match, both players were standing at same level with 9-9 score just before the interval but Chinese lady gained a slight edge of two points when break was announced.
After the mid-game break, Li Xuerui took her total to 17 points with couple of powerful and fruitful rallies. She pushed her opponent in all areas of the court and bagged first match point by placing final margin of 21-17.
The Bulgarian contender switched on the best and dazzled her higher ranked challenger with a lustrous performance in second set.
World Number 21 shuttler Petya Nedelcheva turned her rival’s plan of a straight-set victory into dust by clinching crucial match point. She took some time to get on track as her competitor was leading until score position of 7 but she ended first half with
11-9 total.
In later stages, the unseeded Petya reached near finishing point with 18-13 margin but her rival kept her away from wrapping the second set for some time as she narrowed the gap by putting up a decent total of 16 points.
However, the Bulgarian girl managed to keep contest alive by finishing crucial game with 21-18 margin in her favour.
The Chinese shuttler displayed elevated skills in the decider and outclassed her opponent in all areas of game. She established a comfortable lead of five points until mid-game break and her rival trailed behind in the later part of the set as well.
Li Xuerui made the difference with five consecutive points and emerged as victor with concluding margin of 21-12.
Now she will be up against Mingtian Fu of Singapore in pre quarter-finals of the India Open 2012.
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