Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying on Sunday clinched her third women’s singles title at the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham.
The world No. 2 triumphed over top seed, world No. 1 and defending champion Chen Yufei of China 21-19, 21-15 in a final that lasted 44 minutes.
The win secured the 25-year-old Kaoshiung native her third title at the event, making her the first Taiwanese to claim the treble.
Photo: AFP
Tai won the tournament in 2017 and 2018, before losing to Chen in the final last year.
Tai fell to a 2-6 deficit before scoring four straight points to level the first game.
Known for her unpredictable and versatile play, Tai sent the shuttle flying around the court with disguised drops to keep Chen, who had been returning well, away from the net, as she narrowly won the first game 21-19.
Photo: Reuters
The scores were again neck-and-neck in the second game as Chen held on, waiting for Tai to make mistakes, but after the score reached 10-10, Tai found another gear, winning 10 of the next 15 points and reaching match point at 20-15.
A return by Chen then fell wide, securing Tai her third All England Open title.
The victory improved Tai’s head-to-head record against Chen to 15-3.
The two last faced off in the final of the Perodua Malaysia Masters in January, where Tai suffered a straight-games defeat.
Tai said that she was very excited to reclaim the All England Open title and was familiar with Chen’s style because the two have played each other so many times.
“She [Chen] has always been a consistent player, whereas I tend to make relatively more errors. Playing against her gives me pressure, but luckily today I was able to control the rallies,” Tai said.
Tai also thanked the fans in English for their support, saying how happy she was to play in England.
Earlier in the men’s singles final, Taiwanese top seed Chou Tien-chen was defeated by Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.
The world No. 2 fell to second seed and world No. 7 Axelsen 21-13, 21-14 in a match that lasted 46 minutes.
Chou began too passively, allowing Axelson to gain points quickly early on.
The Dane capitalized on aggressive attacks by getting close to the net, gaining control and then releasing a series of smashes at the body.
Chou’s frustration built toward the end of the second game as the match turned into one-way traffic, with the Taiwanese unable to find answers to Axelson’s superb form.
“You know getting a good start is pretty important, especially in the final,” Axelson said.
Chou said that he had been below his best.
“I tried to put in a better performance, but I wasn’t able to control the rallies as well as Viktor was able to,” Chou said. “I didn’t play to my 100 percent, and I didn’t expect that, but that’s the way it is.”
Despite the loss, Chou was the first Taiwanese to reach the men’s singles final in the history of the tournament, while Axelson ended a 21-year wait for a Dane to claim the title since Peter Gade in 1999.
Additional reporting by AFP
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
Jemimah Rodrigues on Thursday hit an unbeaten 127 as India pulled off a record chase of 339 against Australia to set up a Women’s World Cup final against South Africa. Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 89, put on 167 runs for the third wicket as India won with nine balls and five wickets to spare at DY Patil Stadium, on the outskirts of Mumbai. The hosts finished on a total of 341-5 in reply to Australia’s impressive 338 and ensured there would be a new name on the 50-over trophy tomorrow. Amanjot Kaur hit the winning boundary to trigger wild celebrations
Jannik Sinner on Thursday eased past Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1 at the Paris Masters to set up a quarter-final clash with Ben Shelton, while reigning champion Alexander Zverev earned a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round. A maiden crown in the French capital would return Sinner to No. 1 in the world rankings after current incumbent Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit at the hands of Britain’s Cameron Norrie. The Italian four-time Grand Slam champion is yet to drop a set in the tournament as he hones in on what would be a fifth title of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
RSS