Taufik Hidayat ousts Henri Hurskainen in Men’s Singles second round of Swiss Open GP Gold
Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat advanced into Men’s Singles round-of-16 after beating Sweden’s Henri Hurskainen in the second round of Swiss Open GP Gold 2012 at Basel, Switzerland, on Wednesday, March 14.
Taufik, who is currently World Number 12 in Men’s Singles world rankings, had to employ his extensive experience to chuck out his spirited opponent in an entertaining three-set contest.
The higher ranked Indonesian consumed 59 minutes in the court to register victory over Hurskainen who put up strong resistance throughout the encounter.
Taufik, who was the 10th seed in the tournament, failed to take lead in the opening half of first set as his rival put up wonderful resistance and remained close until the break.
After the one-minute interval, Hurskainen played positive and aggressive game and managed to take a reasonable lead.
On the other hand, Taufik could not dictate the pace of rallies and remained struggling against his in-form opponent.
He executed a few wrong shots in the ending phase and lost first set with a 17-21 score on the board.
In the second set, Taufik played better badminton as he dominated the pace of rallies while moving quicker in the court. However, he could only manage an 11-9 lead until the break.
After the interval, Taufik geared up his speed and found a good rhythm. He executed powerful smashes and perfect drives and eventually bagged the set with a striking margin of 21-12.
In the deciding game, Taufik again dominated the pace of rallies by pushing his lower ranked challenger in all areas of the court.
He was in complete control of rallies and managed to set up a comfortable lead of 11-6 until the interval.
After the break, Hurskainen played better badminton and reduced the deficit but failed to level the score as his higher ranked opponent again controlled the pace.
Taufik played positive game in the ending points of deciding set and won it with a 21-16 score on the board.
The Indonesian won this three-set contest with a decent margin of 17-21, 21-12 and 21-16.
In the round-of-16, Taufik will take on China’s Du Pengyu who defeated Denmark’s Christian Lind Thomsen in another second-round encounter.
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