Indonesia Masters 2018, Final: Saina Nehwal vs Tai Tzu Ying, Live Match Updates

Tai def Nehwal 21-9, 21-13 to win the title

Updated: 28 January 2018 11:10 IST - Published: 28 January 2018 08:21 IST

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The result did not go Saina's way. Tai was simply outstanding and Saina hardly got any chance. Plus Saina made a few errors of her own too.

BUT THAT DOES NOT TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM THE FACT THAT SHE BEAT THREE TOP-10 PLAYERS AT THIS EVENT, INCLUDING PV SINDHU. She has been playing way better than last year and moved brilliantly in all the four matches she played en route to the final.

That itself should boost Saina's confidence and motivate her to do well this year. And next up is the India Open at home. Saina should indeed be doubly motivated to impress her home fans!

That was a masterclass of a performance from Tai. She came, she saw, she conquered!

Absolution demolition!

Final score: Tai def Nehwal 21-9, 21-13 to win the title

A lob from Saina goes long!

Match to Tai Tzu Ying!

And Saina saves second match point.

13-20

Tai sends the shuttle long.

NINE MATCH POINTS FOR TAI

20-11

But here she comes up with a crosscourt backhand.

11-18

Saina is trying but her errors are just not helping her at all.

9-18

And her smashes too are going long.

Saina 9-16

Saina manages to close the gap to five points.

8-13

The unforced errors are not helping Saina's cause.

She is down 6-13

Tai goes up to 11-5 at the mid-game interval.

It's a 33-shot rally but Saina's forehand goes long!

4-10

Saina forced an error by moving Tai all over the court.

Trails 4-9

Tai leads 7-2

How does Tai do it every time? She manages to find the backline even when the shuttle looked very much close to sailing long!

It's 5-1 to the World No. 1

Tai surges to 3-0

Saina trails 0-2

GAME 2

Saina pushes the shuttle into the net

And the World No. 1 finishes the game with her own touch at the net.

21-9

GAME POINTS FOR TAI

20-9

Absolute brilliance from Tai who rushes to the net and finishes with a backhand volley.

18-9

Now Saina misses down the line shot.

9-17

Tai targeted Saina's deep forehand corner but missed it.

16-9

In her urgency to win the point, Saina is missing the lines.

8-16

The momentum has switched to Tai's side.

15-7

Saina and Tai orchestrated an excellent rally but Saina finished it by sending the shuttle into the tramlines.

7-13

Saina is building a string of points here as Tai is struggling with the drift.

7-12

And she targets Tai's forehand!

5-11

Saina finds the backline!

4-11

Tai leads 11-3 going into the mid-game interval.

BRILLIANCE FROM SAINA!

First rally of the match and Saina finds a superb volley!

3-10

Tai is basically everywhere on the court and her down-the-line winners are pretty stinging for Saina

9-2

Tai's deceptions are just mindblowing at the moment!

The points are very, very fast...no rallies as of now.

And Saina is very, very error-prone.

Trails 2-6

Saina is on the board!

1-3

And 3-0 for Tai.

Nervous start for Saina

Saina trails 0-2

Saina sends the shuttle long!

0-1

Saina to serve!

It is about to start!

Saina has beaten 3 top-10 players at this event...can she beat a fourth one? The job is tough as Tai leads 8-5 in their head-to-head record and has won their last six encounters.

Good morning and welcome to the live coverage of the final. The players are on court and are warming up now.

Saina Nehwal will face World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying in the final of the Indonesia Masters on Sunday.

After having a glorious run in this tournament where she beat her compatriot PV Sindhu in the quarters and former World Champion Ratchanok Inthanon in the semis, the star shuttler is ready for her sixth BWF final in Jakarta.

The former World No. 1, who has won thrice in Indonesia, dished out a spirited performance to overcome a fighting Ratchanok 21-19 21-19 in the semifinal lasting 48 minutes.

Saina’s first Superseries triumph was at the Indonesia Open in 2009, where she beat Wang Lin in the final. She successfully defended her title the next year when she beat Japan’s Sayaka Sato and added yet another title at the same place in 2012 when she edged Li Xuerui in three gruelling games.

Other than the three wins, the former World No. 1 also finished as runner-up at the same tournament in 2011 when Wang Yihan prevailed over her.

Saina’s fifth final in Jakarta was in 2015 when she lost the World Championships final to Carolina Marin.