Polish Open 2012: Kieran Merrilees effortlessly beats Nikita Khakimov in Men’s Singles round-of-16
Kieran Merrilees, a talented and spirited shuttler from Scotland, put up wonderful show of top quality play in Men’s Singles round-of-16 and effortlessly showed exit to Russia’s Nikita Khakimov at the Polish Open 2012 on Friday, August 31, in Poland.
The in-form Kieran, who is the fifth seeded player in Men’s Singles draw of the event, was at his best while playing against his lower ranked Russian opponent and he easily grabbed victory without putting in extra effort on court.
The higher ranked Kieran was one class above Nikita in all aspects as his speed and execution of shots created the huge difference between both shuttlers. He easily finished up the contest in straight sets with a comprehensive margin in just 25 minutes.
In the meanwhile, the un-seeded Nikita was not that aggressive on court as he could not produce counter attack against the power play of his higher ranked challenger and eventually went down easily in two games without showing his elevated class.
The Scottish shuttler was in commanding position in opening rallies as he played aggressive badminton and remained successful in taking a spectacular lead on score board until the end of opening half by reaching at 11-3.
The Russian shuttler failed to bridge this huge gap after the mid-game interval and remained struggling on court.
On the other hand, Kieran continued his fascinating play without losing his focus at any stage and maintained his upper hand in the whole competition.
The Scottish player did not put in extra effort and bagged the opening set with a 21-10 score on the board.
In the second set, Kieran again was the first to take an early lead as he played with precision and pushed his rival on back foot.
The impressive Scottish shuttler was at his best on court as he played flawless badminton and took a superb lead of 11-6 until the break.
After the interval, Kieran remained in commanding position without showing any mercy to his rival and eventually took the game with a one-sided 21-12 score on the board.
The top seeded Kieran easily sent Nikita packing by finishing off the battle in just 25 minutes with an authoritative margin of 21-10 and 21-12.
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