Raul Must penetrates into Men’s Singles quarter-final of Swedish International Stockholm 2012
Estonia’s in-form player, Raul Must, has penetrated into Men’s Singles quarter-final after proving his worth against higher ranked Henri Hurskainen of Sweden in round-of-16 clash of the Swedish International Stockholm 2012 on Friday, January 20, at Stockholm,
Sweden.
Raul Must, who has been placed at number 78 in the world, played remarkable game against the World Number 64 Hurskainen and won the battle in style. He showed his elevated play and ended the rubber-set contest in 59 minutes.
Hurskainen, who was the favourite to win this encounter, could not live up to expectations of home fans and lost to his lower ranked opponent in three games.
The opening game went according to the expectations as Hurskainen remained in control of the pace of rallies. He played aggressive and positive game against his Estonian rival in the opening half and reached at 11-8 until the break.
The local player remained on track in the second half as he did not let his lower ranked challenger to level the score.
On the other hand, Raul increased his speed to level the score but failed to control the bird and lost the opening game with a 15-21 score on the board.
In the second set, Raul showed his elevated class as he established his domination in the game from the opening points and remained ahead of his local opponent until the interval where he was going ahead at 11-9.
After the break, Estonian shuttler did not commit any mistake and executed his strokes in the right areas.
The planned play of Raul created trouble for Hurskainen, who failed to find gaps in his rival’s court. Raul ended the second game with a margin of 21-16 and levelled the match with 1-1 set.
In the deciding set of this interesting clash, both shuttlers kept the crowd engaged by playing at their maximum speed and reached at 7-7. At this stage, Raul put variations in his strokes and managed a wonderful lead of 11-7 until the end of first half.
After the break, he continued his striking performance and showed urgency in finishing the set with a stunning margin of 21-14. This Men’s Singles rubber-set contest ended with a 15-21, 21-16 and 21-14 score on the board.
In the quarter-final showdown, Raul will face Scott Evans of Ireland, who stamped his supremacy over Sylvain Ternon of France in the other round-of-16 battle.
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