Tony Stephenson topples Erwin Janssen in Men’s Singles second round of European Universities Games
Tony Stephenson, a young shuttler from Northern Ireland, continued his winning run as he tamed Nederland’s Erwin Janssen in Men’s Singles second round of European Universities Games-Badminton Individual Tournament in Spain, on Sunday, July 15.
Stephenson, the fourth seeded player in the main draw, showed his tremendous class while playing against his lower ranked Dutch rival and easily managed to win the contest in a convincing fashion.
The higher ranked Stephenson was in full swing as he sailed smoothly in his second round clash and easily advanced into next level while ousting his opponent in straight games with a striking margin on the board.
However, the Dutch shuttler could not play his normal game as he failed to match the class of his higher ranked opponent and crashed out without creating a strong impact.
The Irish was the favourite to win this battle and he did not let his fans down by playing at his best in opening set as he established an early lead without facing any trouble.
The fourth seeded Stephenson played positive badminton while remaining calm and pushed his rival in all corners with his wonderful skills.
Until the end of first half, it was Stephenson who showed a strong character and set up smashing lead on the board.
After the interval, Stephenson showed a superb temperament on court as he did not show any sign of pressure and played all of his shots with a greater level of confidence.
The perfect drives coupled with positive attacking shots wrapped up the first game with a huge difference of 21-13.
In the following game, Erwin showed a little improvement in his shot selection and execution and managed to remain close to Stephenson until the mid-game interval.
Both men were impressive as they snapped each other’s heel while keeping the pace at the maximum level.
After the break, the Irish shuttler stretched his lead by playing aggressive badminton and snatched the second set with a five-point difference of 21-16.
Stephenson ousted Erwin in straight games in just 24 minutes with a 21-13 and 21-16 margin on the score board.
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