Ajay Jayaram defends Dutch Open Grand Prix crown
India’s Ajay Jayaram comfortably defended his Dutch Open Grand Prix badminton crown with a 21-12, 21-18 victory over less fancied Estonian Raul Must in Almere on Sunday. Jayaram continued on a resurgent phase in his career that began a month ago at the Korea Open Superseries.
Although placed 22 rungs above his opponent in the world rankings, Ajay went into the match with a 0-1 record against the Estonian, courtesy a lone straight set loss in 2010.
Ajay seemed to have had no recollection of that encounter though, as he quickly dismantled his opponent’s game. He started the match with a lazy cross-court smash as Must watched on despondently. The scene would be a recurrent fixture as Ajay toyed with his opponent through the set with subtle drops and accurate lobs.
Pitted against an all-out attacking player, Jayaram brought his defensive skills to the fore, forcing his opponent to make mistakes, even as he raced to a 6-2 lead. At 10-6, the Indian once again showed his defensive calibre with a deft cross court drive off his opponent's powerful smash. Jayaram continued his fine display as Must went on to commit a stream of errors. The 28-year-old clinched the first set 21-12.
The second set started off in similar fashion as Jayaram rode to a 4-0 lead in no time. Must finally found his attacking rhythm and managed to pull back to level at six-all. Jayaram, however, broke the par score with a stunning rally when he pulled the Estonian to the net and then sent down a booming smash over his opponent's head.
The set assumed a familiar pattern thereafter as an error-prone Must sent down smash after smash, only to taste occasional success. Must managed to draw close with a winner at the 27th point to make it 13-14.
Jayaram responded with some subtle netplay to make it 15-13. Desperate for a win, Must went all out and was rewarded as he managed to close the gap at 18-19. But Jayaram was unfazed and sent down a cross court winner to make it set point. The champion eventually held his nerve to serve out the match at 21-18.
The win marks a significant point for the world number 26, who is coming on the back of a strong run to the final in the Korea Open. Jayaram would hope to continue his fine form as he travels next to Odense for the Denmark Open Superseries Premier. Interestingly, Jayaram could potentially meet Must in the second round of the qualifiers, if he wins his first round on Tuesday.
The final draw of the Superseries Premier will prove to be no walk in the park for Jayaram as he will be pitted against world number three and all-time great, Lin Dan in the first round. Against all odds, Indian fans would hope that Jayaram pulls off a major upset and makes it a second successive Super Sunday.
Meanwhile, in the men's doubles final, the Indian pair of Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy went down 15-21, 10-21 to the Malaysian duo of Kien Keat Koo and Boon Heong Tan.
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