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Match details
Fixture: (1) Carolina Marin vs (2) PV Sindhu
Date: 7 March 2021
Tournament: Yonex Swiss Open
Round: Final
Venue: St. Jakobshalle, Basel
Category: BWF World Tour Super 300
Prize money: $140, 000
Match timing: Approx 2.30 pm local time, 7 pm IST
Live telecast: Star Sports 3 & Star Sports 2 HD
Live Streaming: hotstar.com
PV Sindhu vs Carolina Marin preview
The Swiss Open 2021 final will see a clash between the top two seeds as Carolina Marin and PV Sindhu lock horns for the title.
PV Sindhu returns to a final for the first time since being crowned world champion at the same venue in August 2019. While the World Championships gold medal remains the biggest achievement of her stellar career to date, it took the Indian more than a year to reach another final.
In the meantime, the world of badminton was, of course, shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak. But even in the limited tournaments, the Indian ace failed to make her mark.
Even the resumption of the tour in January wasn't kind to the World No. 7 as she couldn't reach the semi-finals in three tournaments. It was finally at the Swiss Open that Sindhu began to show glimpses of her champion self.
Sindhu hasn't dropped a game in four matches this week. Most importantly, she has turned the tables on two players who beat her in January - Busanan Ongbamrungphan and Mia Blichfeldt.
But up next is her toughest challenge of the week for she faces a player who has had a dazzling start to the year.
Carolina Marin has returned to the tour in dominant form. The southpaw has been ruthless so far and has reached the finals of all the four tournaments she has played this year.
Having won back-to-back titles at the two Thailand Open tournaments, she was the favorite to complete a hat-trick at the BWF World Tour Finals. But Tai Tzu Ying managed to edge the Spaniard in a thrilling three-game match to take the title.
Marin has been eager to bounce back from that loss and she has done so in stupendous fashion at the Swiss Open. Third seed Pornpawee Chochuwong was the only player this week who could take a game off the Rio Olympic champion. But the former World No. 1 was able to summon her best game under pressure and eke out a narrow 21-15, 20-22, 21-19 win to enter the final.
PV Sindhu vs Carolina Marin head-to-head
Carolina Marin and PV Sindhu have played each other as many as 13 times. Marin leads head-to-head against PV Sindhu 8-5, with the Spanish ace having won their last two meetings.
The Swiss Open face-off will be their first showdown since the quarter-final clash at the 2019 Indonesia Masters, which Marin won 21-11, 21-12.
PV Sindhu vs Carolina Marin prediction
PV Sindhu and Carolina Marin are familiar foes who have crossed swords in some of the biggest finals in the badminton circuit. The two orchestrated an enthralling final at the Rio Olympics in 2016, which had the crowd on the edge of their seats.
Sindhu went on to avenge that defeat at home in front of her adoring fans at the 2017 India Open final. Marin then came roaring back to settle scores at the 2018 World Championships summit clash.
This is yet another critical final in their careers for the Swiss Open is a badminton qualifier for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. The top-8 women's singles shuttlers will get an automatic entry into the mega-quadrennial event and both will be giving their all for that purpose. Marin is currently placed in the 5th position in the Race to Tokyo while her Indian opponent is two rungs below.
Marin has returned to the circuit looking as deadly as ever. The lefty has an innate ability to elevate her level for the biggest tournaments and it is thus no surprise that she is already gearing up for Tokyo.
Sindhu, on the other hand, made a quiet start to the year but has been getting better and better with each match. Her Swiss Open performances would suggest she is on the right track to finding her aggressive game.
The Swiss Open final against the in-form Marin might have come a tad too early but PV Sindhu does have the capability to snatch a game and make the three-time world champion work hard for the win.
Prediction: Carolina Marin to win in three games.
