Sindhu breezes into Denmark Open semis with 21-18, 21-19 win over Yihan Wang

10/17/2015

P. V. Sindhu breezed into the semifinals of the Denmark Open Superseries Premier for the first time with an emphatic 21-18, 21-19 win over long time nemesis and former World No. 1, Yihan Wang of China. Sindhu faces World No. 2 Carolina Marin in the semifinals tomorrow.

Sindhu overcame a massive 1-4 record she held against Yihan, the last of which she lost in a thrilling three setter at the Star Australian Open in June that went down to the wire over 1 hour and 20 minutes.

The duel started with both opponents testing the waters with a series of three long rallies. Sindhu managed to come on top of all three as she announced her intent with cross court smashes that combined excellent placement and deception as she made it 3-0. The Indian raced to a 10-4 lead on the back of some aggressive shot making. Sindhu had clearly entered the match with a game plan in mind, evidenced by her continued attempts to peg Yihan to the backcourt. The plan worked like a dream as Yihan committed a series of unforced errors as she attempted to rally from the farther end of the court.

Yihan made a comeback to reach 9-10, only for Sindhu to break away again to 20-11. The Indian, however, lost the plot for a brief while, as Yihan rode a rally to 18-20. A distracted Sindhu called for a shuttle change and stopped play by holding up her hand, buying herself some much needed time. In the end, Sindhu managed to hold her nerves and came back with some stunning defensive returns to close out the set 21-18.

The second set saw a much more confident and renewed Sindhu as she harried her opponent with a mix of emphatic smashes and subtle drops. The best show of Sindhu's prowess came in the midst of the set, when she ended an attacking rally with what could only be characterized as a solid whack to make it 9-3. The rally snuffed out any comeback hopes that Yihan had harbored, as Sindhu went on to lead all the way to 19-15. However, Yihan presented a brief moment of anxiety when she levelled at 19-19. But, the World No. 13 managed to close out the set at 21-19 to record a straight set vitory.

The Indian faces a stern test in the semifinals as she faces World No. 2, Carolina Marin, against whom she again holds a forgettable 1-3 record.