Sindhu sinks Spanish armada off Danish shores; stuns Marin to reach Denmark Open final
PV Sindhu stunned world number two Carolina Marin 21-14, 18-21, 21-17 to reach the final of the Denmark Open Superseries at Odense as she continued her giant-killing spree. Sindhu faces Olympic champion Li Xuerui in the final on Sunday.
The first set was balanced on the tip of a needle at 14-12. A visibly frustrated and irritated Marin had made a series of errors to lose her early lead. However, the World champion had climbed back out of the hole with her trademark smashes, accompanied by her Sharapova-esque shrieks. Marin looked set to close the slender lead further in the 27th point, when Sindhu made a lunging save, pushed Marin to the back-court and unleashed a sizzling cross court smash that left the Spaniard sprawled on her stomach, looking forlorn. In a match that saw more twists and turns than a Hitchcock classic, Sindhu would beat back with puzzles every time she was put to the test, only for Marin to come up empty-handed.
The match had started on an even footing as both traded points to reach 3-3, with Sindhu looking the better of the two. The 20-year-old had unleashed a blistering body smash as a harbinger of things to come. Marin, looking irritated by a few close calls that went the other way, made quite a few unforced errors as Sindhu ran away to 7-3. A subtle hairpin drop off a Marin drive made it 8-3 for the Hyderabad girl.
At 10-6, the match saw a brilliant rally when Marin peppered Sindhu with repeated body smashes that the Indian fended off with flair, forcing a frustrated lob from the world champion that went wide. The Spaniard fought back spiritedly to make it 14-12 but Sindhu launched into attack mode again to win the point. From here on, Sindhu smartly chose to stay in the game, letting her exasperated opponent make the errors and went on to win the set 21-14.
The break between the sets saw some interesting conversations between Marin and her coach, as overheard by the camera in the arena. According to the commentators, the Spaniard was heard complaining that she felt under-confident and that she did not have what it will take to win the match. Marin would go on to say that she was underprepared in the run-up to the Superseries Premier despite her coaching camp in Spain.
Marin, however, was down but not out, as she took an early lead in the second set despite some brilliant defensive display by the Indian shuttler. Sindhu managed to draw par at 6-6, but Marin made it 7-6 with some impressive net play as her hairpin drop kissed the top of the net before tumbling on to the other side. Sindhu appeared to lose concentration as she withdrew into a defensive thereon, which only helped Marin strengthen her stranglehold. While she showed flashes of her attacking prowess, Sindhu trailed the Spaniard all through to lose the set 18-21.
The deciding game saw both players take off their kid gloves and lift the quality of play up by a few notches. It developed into a seesaw battle that saw the lead change six times before they reached nine-all. Marin found her fifth gear as she raced to 15-11 and seemed to be firmly in control of the match at 16-14. However, against run of play, Sindhu went on an all-out attack to win six straight points to reach match point. After a short interlude, Sindhu closed out the match with a strong smash that embodied her entire match – an attacking masterpiece.
Sindhu is on a giant killing spree as she had made quick work of world number four Tai Tsu Ying and world number seven Wang Yihan in the preceding rounds. The two-time world bronze medallist will meet Li Xuerui for the title. Sindhu is two-two on head-to-head against the Chinese, much better than the lop-sided numbers against her earlier, equally fancied opponents.
Sindhu had come on top in the previous meeting between the two, in the pre-quarterfinals of the World Championships in a thrilling three-setter. Going by her form and her past record against Xuerui, the Indian is looking good to bag her maiden Superseries Premier crown.
The match will be the fourth of the day and will be telecast live on Star Sports- 4 at around 7 PM IST.
Update: The match has been advanced to 6:30 PM IST, in view of the withdrawal of Chinese duo, Zhao Yunlei/ Tian Qing from the mixed doubles finals
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