Star Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth lost his men's singles semi-final match to Kento Momota of Japan while Saina Nehwal entered the women's singles final of the Denmark Open on Saturday.
Second seed Momota took 42 minutes to outplay the seventh seed Indian shuttler 21-16, 21-12 in straight games to advance while Saina got the better of Gregoria Mariska Tunjunng of Indonesia 21-11 21-12 in a lop-sided affair which lasted 49 minutes.
It was a cake walk for Saina as she hardly broke a sweat to beat her opponent.
Srikanth struggled from the start and failed to find his rhythm which cost him the match.
Earlier, late on Friday night, Saina Nehwal and Srikanth entered the semi-finals of the Denmark Open but were made to sweat en route by Nozomi Okuhara and Sameer Verma respectively.
Saina came back from a game down to beat familiar foe and world number seven Okuhura of Japan 17-21, 21-16, 21-12 in the quarter-final lasting 58 minutes on Friday night.
On the other hand, Srikanth too had to grind it out against countryman Verma with little separating the two in the men's singles last-eight clash.
In the end, Srikanth prevailed over the 23rd ranked Indian in an epic battle lasting an hour and 18 minutes with the final scoreline reading 22-20, 19-21, 23-21.
Verma had the upper hand for major parts of the third and deciding game where he even had a 17-13 lead before Srikanth roared back to eke out the triumph.
In the women's doubles, Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy lost to top seeds Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota in the quarter-finals.
Updated Date: Oct 21, 2018 21:25 PM
Highlights
Complete results:
Only the men's singles and women's singles match lasted for three games. All the World No 1's came out as champions.
Momota wins title
World No 1 Kento Momota downs fourth seed Chou Tien Chen to win the men's singles crown, his first-ever title at the Denmark Open. After stuttering in the second game, the left-handed shuttler managed to get his mojo back to register a 22-20, 16-21, 21-15 win.
Chou levels the score
The Chinese Taipei shuttler comes out aggressively in the second game 21-16 to take the match into the deciding game.
Tai Tzu Ying wins title!
The World No 1 shows her class right at the end to beat former champion Saina Nehwal 21-13, 13-21, 21-6. After losing the second game, Tai never really allowed Saina to attack from the front and in fact, she enjoyed indulging in rallies. An excellent repertoire of strokes allowed Tai to manipulate the pace of the rallies.
Saina levels the score
Saina has done extremely well to indulge Tai Tzu in long rallies and that has forced the World No 1 to make errors at the net. A 21-13 win for the Indian shuttler here.
21-13!
Tai Tzu Ying bags the opening game quite convincingly against Saina Nehwal
'You're playing well, push her behind,' says Kashyap during the break. Can Saina make a comeback?
21:24 (IST)
That's it from us. Hope you liked our live coverage of the Denmark Open final. We'll be back to give you the live updates of the French Open next week. Thank you!
21:22 (IST)
Complete results:
Only the men's singles and women's singles match lasted for three games. All the World No 1's came out as champions.
21:12 (IST)
Momota wins title
World No 1 Kento Momota downs fourth seed Chou Tien Chen to win the men's singles crown, his first-ever title at the Denmark Open. After stuttering in the second game, the left-handed shuttler managed to get his mojo back to register a 22-20, 16-21, 21-15 win.
20:45 (IST)
Chou levels the score
The Chinese Taipei shuttler comes out aggressively in the second game 21-16 to take the match into the deciding game.
20:39 (IST)
Momota 1-0 Chou
The Japanese ace wins the first game 22-20 to put one hand on the elusive Denmark Open title. He was trailing throughout the match but somehow found openings to bag points in quick succession.
20:06 (IST)
11-8! Chou has a three-point advantage at the mid-game break of the first game. It's a bit rare to see Momota trail so early in the game.
19:58 (IST)
Men's singles final:
World No 1 takes on fourth seed Chou Tien Chen. This is the 10th meeting between the two shuttlers, with the Japanese leading 7-2.
16:45 (IST)
16:45 (IST)
16:44 (IST)
16:43 (IST)
Tai Tzu Ying wins title!
The World No 1 shows her class right at the end to beat former champion Saina Nehwal 21-13, 13-21, 21-6. After losing the second game, Tai never really allowed Saina to attack from the front and in fact, she enjoyed indulging in rallies. An excellent repertoire of strokes allowed Tai to manipulate the pace of the rallies.
16:33 (IST)
17-6! One-way traffic at the moment.
Saina is looking a little off-colour. Tai's reverse slice drops are enough to unsettle the Indian shuttler.
16:30 (IST)
4-14! Tai is having fun with the long rallies. She looks fearless now as her shots are causing problems for Saina.
But her shot lands wide. Saina gets a point.
16:28 (IST)
16:27 (IST)
9-2! Easy-peasy there for Tai.
The Chinese Taipei shuttler seems to have the control of the shuttle. The strokes that she has played so far indicates how she has learned from the mistakes she made in the second game.
16:25 (IST)
7-2! Tai is using her drop shots to unsettle Saina, who has been making a few mistakes from the backcourt. A five-point advantage has given Tai the much-needed confidence.
16:23 (IST)
3-2! Tai looks to get a quick start but Saina does well to close the gap. Saina has got to close to Tai's lead.
16:22 (IST)
Saina levels the score
Saina has done extremely well to indulge Tai Tzu in long rallies and that has forced the World No 1 to make errors at the net. A 21-13 win for the Indian shuttler here.
16:17 (IST)
11-18! Was that the longest rally of the match?
Saina does everything right but misses an opportunity to kill from the net.
16:14 (IST)
16-9! That scream reminded us of Carolina Marin there. Saina looks fired up as she forces Tai to make errors at the net. The Indian shutter has been accurate so far.
16:11 (IST)
14-8! Saina has pushed Tai behind and covered the frontcourt as and when she reaches first. That delicate drop should give Tai a taste of her own medicine.
16:10 (IST)
7-12! That was an unexpected drop shot by Tai. That's what the World No 1 is all about. She plays a smart drop shot from the back of the court to earn a point.
16:09 (IST)
16:06 (IST)
9-4! Saina is playing with an excellent length, leaving Tai puzzled. The Chinese Taipei ace has been stretched near the tramlines on multiple occasions.
16:05 (IST)
8-3! Saina makes full use of the drift to push Tai behind. The shuttle lands in, much to Tai's annoyance there. That's back-to-back points for the former champion.
16:04 (IST)
6-3! The Indian ace has maintained the pressure on Tai. There have been good lifts as she finally reads Tai's movements.
16:02 (IST)
5-2! Good counter-attacking from Saina to hit that winner down the line. Tai has been out of position here, allowing her opponent to find angles.
16:01 (IST)
3-1! Saina has taken an early lead with a couple of rallies. The Indian shuttler keeps up with Tai's pace to catch her off guard. A change in strategy?
15:59 (IST)
21-13!
Tai Tzu Ying bags the opening game quite convincingly against Saina Nehwal
'You're playing well, push her behind,' says Kashyap during the break. Can Saina make a comeback?
15:57 (IST)
20-13! Game point opportunity for Tai. That was a delightful forehand drive from backcourt to leave Saina stranded yet again. It's really difficult to crack Tai down.
15:56 (IST)
18-13! Tai hammers a flat smash down the line. Saina just couldn't lift the shuttle from the tramlines. So many variations here, so many.
15:55 (IST)
17-11! A lot of disguised shots from Tai there. Saina is absolutely stranded at the moment as she fails to reach the forecourt in time. That's how accurate Tai's drop shots are.
15:53 (IST)
15-9! 'Aaram se, aaram se. Aayega,' says Kashyap who is in Saina's corner. The Indian has been forced to make errors at the net. Tai is playing crosscourt shots and has attacked Saina's backhand corner.
15:51 (IST)
8-11! Three points on the trot for Saina. What a body smash that was! Pure class. She looks pumped up. She had a really good whip to that shot. Need more of that
15:50 (IST)
15:48 (IST)
9-4! Saina needs to make full use of her strong attack to trouble Tai. The World No 1 hasn't faced an all-out attacker like Saina in this tournament. This could prove to be fruitful for the Indian ace.
15:46 (IST)
7-3! Tai hits a perfect tap to kill the rally. Saina is still trying to settle in. The Chinese Taipei shuttler is in complete control of the rallies.
15:44 (IST)
5-1! A punch clear from Tai
Tai wins a 38-shot rally to extend her lead in the opening game. She has used a variety of strokes to make Saina run around the court.
15:43 (IST)
3-1! Nicely done there by Tai
The Chinese Taipei shuttler plays a delicate net shot to take Saina by surprise. The Indian shuttler needs to maintain a good pace.
15:41 (IST)
1-0! A service error to begin with. Saina tried to judge the drift inside the arena. Tai claims the first point.
15:39 (IST)
Both the finalists have entered the court. We are minutes away from the match.
15:38 (IST)
Tai Tzu has the advantage but looking at how Saina has performed against Akane Yamaguchi and Nozomi Okuhara, the London Olympics bronze medallist has the chance to win her second title in Odense.
Former World No 1 vs the current World No 1
15:36 (IST)
Can Saina repeat the feat today?
15:28 (IST)
Can Saina Nehwal end her losing streak against Tai Tzu Ying?
For Saina, it could be a tough mountain to climb in Sunday's final. The Indian has freely admitted that Tai is the most difficult opponent she has faced on the global circuit and has found it as hard to unravel the puzzle of the Taipei player's outlandish deception as she once did against China's Li Xuerui.
The head-to-head record between Saina and Tai is weighted heavily in the latter's favour. The two have met on 17 previous occasions and the Indian trails 5-12 to Tai. What is even more disheartening is the fact that Saina has failed to beat Tai for the past five-and-a-half years with her last victory coming in the March 2013 Swiss Open. Thereafter, Tai has won ten times in an unbroken reel, including straight-games triumphs on the last six occasions.
14:01 (IST)
Hello and welcome to Firstpost's live coverage of the Denmark Open 2018 final. Former champion Saina Nehwal will be in action as she squares up against World No 1 Tai Tzu Ying. Meanwhile, in the men's singles, World No 1 Kento Momota takes on Chou Tien Chen.
Stay tuned for live updates.