Vladimir Ivanov wins battle for the throne in Men’s Singles event – US Open Update
Vladimir Ivanov raised Russia’s flag at Orange County Badminton Club of Los Angeles by winning Men’s Singles final in Yonex OCBC US Open GPG on Saturday, July 7, 2012.
He toppled hot favourite Takuma Ueda of Japan in just two games by registering final margin of 22-20 and 21-17.
However, it was not a smooth sailing as he had to wait for 45 minutes before claiming trophy in this Grand Prix Gold event.
World Number 44 shuttler Vladimir proved his guts in pressure situations and did not show any sign of bewilderment in front of high ranked rival and wrapped the show in splendid manner.
On the other hand, the Japanese campaigner looked off colour throughout this crucial encounter and lost despite of having an upper hand in most part of the battle.
Takuma Ueda, who was top seeded player in this tournament, was clearly out of touch as he put fluctuated performance in first half of the opening game.
He remained at lower end until 3-6 but then made swift progress and reached at respectable total of 9-7.
Both shuttlers kept chasing each other until 13-12 but Takuma made up the difference by clinching five valuable points without any interruption.
This alarming figure of 17-13 forced Vladimir to put an extra effort to avoid defeat in first set of the match.
He dominated in next four rallies and caught his competitor at 17-17. He did not lose this rhythm and bagged first match point with 22-20 score on the board.
World Number 40 shuttler Takuma Ueda did not lose hope after this initial blow and opened the second set with an immediate lead.
However, he failed to go with same flow in next couple of rallies and squandered his efforts in crucial stage of the game.
In the beginning, he masterly covered all areas of the court and entered 8-5 margin with his well placed strokes.
At this stage, Vladimir showed strong character and bounced back into contest by putting a favourable figure of 11-9 before the interval.
The Russian campaigner maintained this advantage all the way to game point situation and seized the honour with a decisive margin of 21-17.
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