Saina fails to crack Yihan riddle

Kuala Lumpur: World No.4 Saina Nehwal once again fell to her nemesis, world No.1 Wang Yihan, in the semifinals of the Malaysia Open Superseries on Saturday. The 21-15 21-16 loss was her fifth loss in five matches against the top-ranked Yihan, who remains the only top player that Saina has yet to beat.

Their last meeting, at the World Superseries Finals in Taipei, had ended in a three-setter. Saina had then taken the first game, but on Sunday, the Chinese was able to stay ahead from the half-way stage of the first game.

There was little to choose between the two. The Indian held her own with her powerful shots on either flank and at Yihan’s body, while Yihan attempted to unsettle Saina with a greater range of strokes. Saina built up a small lead, but Yihan caught up at 8, and then stayed ahead.

The second game was tighter. There were some long rallies as each player matched the other for speed and power. Wang went into the break 11-10 ahead, and from there she was able to keep her nose in front. The Chinese girl was exceptionally precise, firing her half-smashes on the line, and producing one astonishing net-kill with the shuttle just millimetres above the net.

It’s apparent that the Chinese have studied Saina well, and she needs to develop more surprise weapons to stay level with them. On the plus side, the last month has seen her resurgence after a dull 2011.

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