Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei struggle in the first round of the 2011 French Open Super Series
China’s top shuttlers Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei remained struggling in the Mixed Doubles first round as they defeated Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Mu Lee and Yu Chin Chien in a hard fought three-set match in the 2011 French Open Super Series, in Paris, on Wednesday,
October 26.
Nan and Yunlei, who are currently enjoying the World Number One position in the Mixed Doubles rankings, had to dig deep to beat their Taipei opponents in a rubber-set fight which lasted for 46 minutes. The Taipei shuttlers played superb badminton and stretched
the top seeds to three games before losing the match.
The top seeds won the first game without facing any trouble from their challengers. However, they failed to continue their dominating game and lost the second set with a tight margin. In the final set, the Chinese duo played better game and remained successful
in winning it.
Right from the start of the first set, Nan and Yunlei dominated the game and established a comfortable lead over their opponents without facing any resistance. They played superb game by working well at the net and maintained a wonderful pressure on the
Taipei shuttlers throughout the opening set and remained successful in winning it with a big margin of 21-13 by taking just 13 minutes.
In the second set, the Taipei shuttlers lifted up their level of play and remained close to their higher ranked opponents. The score remained tight in the whole set as both sides were playing positive game at the same pace. At the ending points, the top
seeds failed to play well and lost the game with a narrow margin of 19-21 in 17 minutes.
The deciding set was close in the opening half when both couples pushed each other in all corners of the court. However, the top seeds played positive and composed badminton in the whole set. They made no mistake this time and dictated the pace of the game
to keep a firm grip over the rallies. The top seeds emerged as the winners by winning it with a decent difference of 21-15.
Nan and Yunlei won the opening-round battle in three sets of 46 minutes with a margin of 21-13, 19-21 and 21-15.
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