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Saina Nehwal vs Akane Yamaguchi Live Score and Commentary Malaysia Open First Round

Akane Yamaguchi beats Saina Nehwal, 19-21, 21-13, 21-15
Updated: 05 April 2017 13:43 IST - Published: 05 April 2017 12:39 IST
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Saina obviously needs a lot of work mentally to get back to where she was. 
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FINAL SCORE: Akane Yamaguchi beats Saina Nehwal, 19-21, 21-13, 21-15
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Yamaguchi wins it, 21-15
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FIVE match points for Yamaguchi at 20-15
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2 points for the Indian now....still trails 15-18
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18-13 for Yamaguchi
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16-13 for Yamaguchi....time is running out for Nehwal!
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It is now 15-13 for the fourth seed.
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In a mirror image of the second game, the Japanese is building on her lead again as Saina's game seems to have gone quiet for a while....14-12.
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Now the Japanese inches ahead to 13-12.
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It is 12-12....the rallies have definitely become longer and more gruelling.
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3 points on the trot for the Indian....12-11.
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After the break, a pumped-up Saina comes back to even the game, 11-11
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Yamaguchi pockets two points to build an 11-9 lead at half-time.
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And it is 9-9 now
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Saina now trails 8-9....tight, tight contest
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2 points on the trot for Saina to cut the lead to 7-8.
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And she extends the lead to 8-5.
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The diminutive Japanese is standing tall at the moment....she leads 7-5.
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The two are tied at 5-5
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Saina LEVELS at 4-4. Can she continue now?
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It's four straight points for the Japanese as she leads 4-2 now.
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Will it be a repeat of the second game or has Saina learnt from her mistakes?
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And just like the previous games, Yamaguchi has come back to make it 2-2.
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THIRD GAME

Saina opens up a 2-0 lead.