Tai Tzu Ying powers into Women’s Singles semi-final of the US Open Grand Prix Gold 2011
Chinese Taipei’s shuttler, Tai Tzu Ying powered her way into the Women’s Singles semi-final after beating China’s Lu Lan in the quarter-final of the US Open Grand Prix Gold 2011, in Orange, California, on Thursday, July 14.
World Number 24, Tzu Ying, delivered a superb performance by playing flawless badminton against the Chinese shuttler and won the battle in 61 minutes, after working really hard for three-sets. The Chinese failed to stop the impressive run of the Taipei shuttler
and lost after a wonderful fight.
The opening set was a very close fight as both ladies put up a terrific show of attacking badminton in front of the big crowd. The score was tied until the end of the first-half, where Tzu Ying was leading by a small margin at 11-10.
After the break, the Chinese tried to accelerate her speed by picking the bird more early from the net, but she lost her control and hit many shots in the net or wide of the side lines of the court. Tzu Ying won the first game with a 21-19 margin, in 19
minutes.
The following set was a wonderful display of the top-class skills of Lu, who was playing with great precision. She played planned badminton and did not place any of her strokes into the strong areas of her opponent. Tzu Ying was unable to cope with Lu’s
tactics and lost the second set with a margin of 18-21, in 20 minutes.
The third game of this quarter-final battle was scintillating, as both ladies reached the concluding stage of the match without taking a lead. The score was 20-20, where Tzu Ying managed two consecutive points and won the set with a 22-20 margin, in 22 minutes.
The match finished-off in three games of 61 minutes with the score of 21-19, 18-21 and 22-20.
In the semi-final, Tzu Ying will be up against Japan’s Eriko Hirose, who defeated Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand in the quarter-final battle.
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