French Open 2019: Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu move into the quarterfinals

It was a good day for Indian shuttlers as Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty moved into the quarterfinals of Super 750 French Open on Thursday

Nehwal had no problems in defeating Line Kjaersfeldt of Denmark in two straight sets by 21-10, 21-11. It was a dominating performance by Saina who played with aggression right from the word go and never allowed her opponent to comeback into the match. 

The first game saw Saina starting with aggression, taking an early 4-1 lead. She continued to put the Danish player on the back-foot to make it 11-4 in her favor. After the interval, the Indian created more pressure on the Kjaersfeldt with smash and drop shots to win the first set.

In the second set, the Indian continued her aggressive intent and made life tough for the Dane. Saina took five points in succession while Line took three points in succession during the entire match. The Indian was precise with her stroke play and won the second set easily at 21-11 to move into the quarterfinals. She will take on An Se Young of South Korea.

World Champion PV Sindhu also cruised to an easy victory over Yeo Jo Ming of Singapore in two straight sets, 21-10, 21-13. In the first game, Sindhu showed her class with smashes and putting her opponent on the back-foot with aggressive strokes. At the interval, the Indian had a commanding 11-4 lead. After the interval, Sindhu continued her domination and won the first set easily. 

The second game also saw the Indian put the young Singaporean under immense pressure. Sindhu had a commanding lead of 11-5 at the interval. After the interval, Yeo Ming tried her best but was not given chances by the World Champion. Sindhu won the second set easily at 21-13 to move into the quarterfinals. She will take on Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei. 

After losing in the second round in the last three tournaments, Sindhu would be looking to continue her impressive run against the World number 1. The World Champion has not lost a game so far. Nehwal showed great improvement after being knocked out in the initial rounds from past few tournaments would be looking to create an impact against the young South Korean. 

Rankireddy and Shetty stunned second seeds, Mohammed Ahsan and Hendra Setiwan, in three gruelling sets by 21-18, 18-21, 21-13. 

In the first game, Rankireddy and Shetty executed wonderful smash shots and drop shots which made life tough for the Indonesian pair. At the interval, the Indian pair led 11-7. After the break, the Indians committed lot of mistakes and were trailing 15-17. Shetty and Rankireddy, however, maintained their composure and took five points in succession to win the first set, 21-18. 

The second game saw Ahsan and Setiwan show their class with smashes. At the interval, the Indonesian pair had a good lead. Rankireddy and Shetty tried to make a comeback but committed lot of mistakes to lose the second set, 18-21. 

It was a dominating display by Rankireddy and Shetty in the third game. From 3-3 onwards, the Indian pair increased their lead to 10-5 and took an 11-7 lead at the interval. They continued their domination over the experienced pair and won the third set easily, 21-13. Chirag and Satwik will face Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark. 

Subhankar Dey lost to Indonesian, Sheshar Hiren Rhustatvito in two straight sets by 6-21, 13-21. After an impressive performance in the first round, Dey could not maintain the same intensity and crashed out.

Cover image credits: The Bridge