Simon Knutsson beats Sergiy Garist to move into pre quarter-finals of 2012 Victor Slovak Open
Men’s Singles expert Simon Knutsson started his campaign in perfect fashion as he eased into the pre quarter-finals of the Victor Slovak Open after stamping Sergiy Garist on September 7, 2012.
This epic battle kept both shuttlers busy on the court for 57 minutes before ending with a nerve-racking score position of 19-21, 21-19 and 21-16.
Though, this match kept swinging between them until the last moment but finally Swedish campaigner raised hands as champion after pocketing the ending two match points.
Meanwhile, the opposing shuttler also earned great deal of admiration for his great fighting spirit which he showed throughout this hard fought tussle.
The Ukrainian player registered his presence by surviving a neck-and-neck competition in the very first set.
Sergiy Garist took some time to get settled but he never looked back after gaining the required momentum.
He employed some interesting tactics as he kept a low profile in the beginning but then stunned his rival with a brisk attack after a couple of preliminary rallies.
He mounted pressure by catching Simon just before the interval and then magnified the impact by putting a decent total of 11.
However, later part of the game was full of drama as at first Sergiy lost focus and stayed down until third quarter of the set but then he reinstated his dominance and won the first set with 21-19 score.
The second set was a replay of the previous game but in reverse manner as this time Simon showed elevated craft and turned his competitor’s plan of a straight-set win into dust.
He proved himself a late bloomer as his real badminton skills were seen in the second half of the set when the Ukrainian campaigner got dazzled by his lustrous performance.
Simon maintained the upper hand until game point situation and setup a nerve-racking decider by piling up a favourable margin of 21-19.
The Swedish shuttler did not lose this touch in the third set and served notice of his supremacy in a splendid manner.
Both contenders were poles apart in terms of performance as Sergiy Garist hardly put any resistance in crucial moments and surrendered after reading decisive figure of 16-21.
Now Simon will swing arms against Henrik Toth in second round and a win will take him into the quarter-finals of the event.
Tags: