Taufik Hidayat topples Tian Houwei to surge into quarter-final of the 2011 Canada Open Grand Prix
Indonesian shuttler, Taufik Hidayat, booked his place in the Men’s Singles quarter-final as he ousted China’s Tian Houwei in their round-of-16 match at the 2011 Canada Open Grand Prix, in Canada, on Thursday, July 21.
The top seed, Taufik, struggled in the opening game of the match, but gained momentum in the second set and clinched the contest by taking 41 minutes of court time. The Chinese put up a good show by playing to his full potential, but he was unlucky in the
ending points of both sets, as he lost with a narrow margin.
In the opening game of the match, World Number Four, Taufik, played in his usual calm style against the spirited Chinese, who was also matching the speed of his senior opponent. The Indonesian managed a small lead of 11-10 at the end of the first part of
the set.
After the break, Houwei played remarkable badminton against Taufik, who is a former Olympic and world champion. The Chinese played positive badminton and was tied with the Indonesian until the score reached at 21-21. At this crucial stage of the game, the
Indonesian utilised his experience and grabbed two consecutive points and won the set by a 23-21 margin, in 25 minutes.
In the second set, the top seed played fast badminton by picking the bird early from all areas of the court. He was relying on his incredible net strokes, which earned him a good position in the match. In the first-half, the Indonesian was the leader of
the game with the score of 11-8.
After the one-minute rest in the second set, the Chinese tried to catch up with the difference of the score and drew closer, but Taufik was alert this time as he geared up his speed and remained in control of the game. The top seed clinched the second game
with a three-point difference of 21-18, in 16 minutes. This interesting 41-minute match ended with a 23-21 and 21-18 result on the score board.
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