Taufik Hidayat opens his campaign in style at the 2011 Yonex OCBC US Open Grand Prix Gold
Indonesian shuttler, Taufik Hidayat, opened his campaign in impressive fashion as he tamed Anthony Dumartheray of Switzerland in the Men’s Singles first round of the 2011 Yonex OCBC US Open Grand Prix Gold, in California, on Monday, July 11.
World Number Four player, Taufik, who is the top seed in the Men’s Singles draw in the event, played superb badminton with great precision and finished the match in straight games of 22 minutes. He faced no notable resistance from the Swiss opponent in the
whole match and advanced into the next round with ease.
Taufik, who is famous for his calmness, incredible defence and powerful smashes, played without taking any pressure of being the top seed in the tournament. He started the opening set in a relaxed way, but kept a firm grip on the pace of the rallies. His
control over the bird was quite impressive as he made his challenger work hard, particularly in the net area.
Anthony was confused in the start as he failed to return the perfectly placed spinning net strokes of his rival, who was playing with considerable ease. Taufik continued his dominance in the opening game by controlling the pace of the bird and won it easily
by a 21-10 score on the board, in just 9 minutes.
However, Anthony played a little better in the second set by matching the speed at the net. He pushed Taufik away from the net, which helped him in remaining close until the interval, where he was slightly behind at 11-9.
After the break, Taufik injected more power in his attacking clears, which forced his opponent to leave the baseline. This strategy worked well as Taufik was successful in creating gaps in his rival’s court. His powerful down the line smashes earned him
a strong position in the second set and he ended it with a margin of 21-15, in just 13 minutes.
The one-sided match finished-off in 22 minutes with a 21-10 and 21-15 score on the board.
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