Hard fought win: Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying edged out Japan’s Aya Ohori to reach the singles final in the French Open.
PETALING JAYA: It was a day of double happiness for Taiwan’s women’s singles shuttler Tai Tzu-ying in the ongoing French Open.
The world No. 4 fought brilliantly to overcome Japan’s world No. 19 Aya Ohori 20-22, 21-10, 22-20 in a thrilling 72-minute semi-final match at the Glaz Arena in Rennes yesterday.
It was also sweet revenge for Tzu-ying after suffering a 16-21, 14-21 defeat to the Japanese in the third round of the individual event in the Hangzhou Asian Games earlier this month.
Tzu-ying was disappointed with her performance in her final Asiad but her win in the French meet was a personal redemption for her.
With the victory, Tzu-ying extended her lead in the head-to-head record to 9-1.
Reaching the final was another watershed moment for Tzu-ying as it was her first final appearance in a World Tour tournament since the Korean Open in July, where she finished runner-up after losing 9-21, 15-21 to reigning world champion An Se-young of Korea.
Standing in her way to winning her third title of the year is either China’s world No. 3 Chen Yufei or No. 6 He Bingjiao.
Judging by their head-to-head records, Tzu-ying has a strong chance of prevailing against both Chinese players, having won 14 times in their past 18 meetings with Bingjiao and 17 out of 24 meetings with Yufei.
Tzu-ying, however, has to remain vigilant if she faces Yufei, as she experienced three consecutive semi-final defeats in their recent meetings last year at the Malaysian Open, Malaysian Masters and World Championships.
As for Ohori, she can still hold her head high despite crashing out in the last four.
Ohori stormed into her first semi-final in a Super 750 tournament after stunning Spain’s world No. 5 Carolina Marin 21-18, 21-18 in the quarter-finals on Friday.
The victory was even more meaningful as it was achieved in front of her biggest fan, her father.
“I can’t quite believe it, this is crazy,” said Ohori in an interview with Badminton World Federation (BWF) after the quarter-final match.
“I’ve wanted to play her (Marin) for so long that just meeting in the draw was the biggest goal.
“I knew it was going to be tough, Marin is physically strong.
“This (Friday) morning, I was so excited about the match and that helped me mentally.
“This is my moment, and I’m going to enjoy it.
“My father is my biggest fan.
“He’s a busy man, but he’s here in Rennes with me, watching my matches.
“I hope I did him proud.”
