Akane YAMAGUCHI dominates her quarterfinal
A high-level confrontation is expected between YAMAGUCHI, world no. 5, and HAN Yue, world no. 3. While HAN Yue is the favorite due to her ranking and her two wins in their last meetings, it is the Japanese player who historically dominated the rallies, with 6 wins in their 9 previous meetings.
YAMAGUCHI does not give her opponent a chance at the start of the match. She immediately takes the upper hand, preventing HAN Yue from finding her rhythm. The Chinese player appears late in most of the rallies and very static in her movements. In barely ten minutes of play, the Japanese bronze medalist at the last World Championships win the first set with a resounding 21/5.
The second set is a completely different story. HAN Yue returns to the court transformed: more dynamic, more aggressive, and she significantly raises her standards. She leads 11/6 at the break, creating problems to YAMAGUCHI for the first time in the match. But the Japanese quickly adjusts, back levels (14/14), and then engaged in an intense tug-of-war. The two players strike back until the money time. However, more lucid in the deciding points, YAMAGUCHI manages to make the difference and concludes the match 21/19.
Akane YAMAGUCHI: "In the first set, I felt my opponent was having a lot of trouble, so I let her make mistakes. Then, in the second set, I had to change my strategy because she had a good counterattack. So, I avoided being too offensive and was more patient, waiting for the right opportunities. (…) For the next match, I would prefer to face PURSULA V. Sindhu, because I have already met her several times, even though she can be difficult to play in summer due to her more offensive style.”
With WANG Zhi Yi (no. 2, China) out, the path to the final now seems clearer for Akane YAMAGACHI. However, she will need to beat either Putri Kusuma WARDANI (no. 9, Indonesia) or PURSULA V. Sindhu (no. 15, India) in the semifinals.