Sho Sasaki topples Hsuan Yi Hsueh to surge into Men’s Singles final of US Open Grand Prix Gold 2011
Japan’s top shuttler, Sho Sasaki, penetrated into the Men’s Singles final as he toppled Chinese Taipei’s Hsuan Yi Hsueh in the semi-final battle of the US Open Grand Prix Gold 2011. The Japanese took 39 minutes of court time to send Hsuan Yi packing after
winning in straight-sets.
World Number 15 and seventh seed in the event, Sasaki, delivered a remarkable performance to stunt his rival in the match. Hsuan Yi failed to compete well against the planned and perfect game played by the Japanese.
In the opening game, Sasaki employed his skills well and was miles ahead of the Taipei shuttler in the whole opening set. The Japanese is famous for his hard work and fighting spirit in the court, as he always remains focused in the match. He put pressure
on Hsuan Yi in the first-half by reaching at 11-7.
After taking a one-minute rest, Sasaki continued his superb display of top-quality badminton against the Taipei player, who was quite nervous as he committed many unforced errors. Sasaki ended the opening set in tremendous fashion with a good difference
of 21-15, in 18 minutes.
Hsuan Yi delivered stunning performance in the opening points of the second game, where he played aggressive badminton against a spirited Sasaki. The Japanese could not take a comfortable lead in this set, as his challenger was playing better this time.
At the interval, Sasaki was just ahead with a one-point lead of 11-10.
After the break, Hsuan Yi changed his strategy and achieved good results as the score reached 20-20. At this stage of the second game, Sasaki scored two successive points and clinched the set by a 22-20 margin, in 21 minutes. The semi-final battled ended
in straight-sets of 39 minutes with the score of 21-15 and 22-20.
In the final, Sasaki will take on the third seed, Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam, who emerged as the winner against Marc Zwiebler of Germany in the semi-final contest.
Tags: