Rajiv Ouseph eases into Men’s Singles second round of the 2011 Yonex OCBC US Open Grand Prix Gold
England’s top seed, Rajiv Ouseph, eased into the Men’s Singles second round after defeating Czech Republic’s Petr Koukal in the first round of the 2011 Yonex OCBC US Open Grand Prix Gold, in California, on Monday, July 11.
Ouseph, who is currently World Number 20 and eighth seed of the event, won easily against Koukal, who was lacking the finishing touch in his strokes. The power-play of Ouseph helped him to win the battle in straight games by spending 38 minutes in the court.
The English has been working really hard and displaying good performances for the last six months by playing top-class badminton. He has earned a good ranking in the world in Men’s Singles category. He opened the first game in a striking way by executing
some powerful smashes. However, Koukal remained close by playing at the same speed and reached 9-11 at the break.
After the interval, Ouseph geared up his speed at the net and put pressure on his opponent by playing straight to the body pushes and smashes. Koukal had no answer to the powerful smashes of his rival as his defence was not that strong. The English grabbed
the opening fight in 21 minutes with a difference of 21-17.
Ouseph was moving around in the court with incredible speed and his stroke selection was also impressive. Throughout the match, he never lost his control over the rallies, which earned him a considerable edge over his challenger, who was struggling to score
points.
The English shuttler took a good four-point advantage by reaching 11-7 at the interval of the set. After the one-minute break, he continued his impressive run in the concluding half of the second game. His low servings and parallel game left no room for
Koukal to score points.
Ouseph finished-off the second set in striking fashion by consuming only 16 minutes, with a good margin of 21-14. This Men’s Singles opening round match ended in 38 minutes, with a 21-17 and 21-14 score on the board.
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