Saina Nehwal hopes she can come out on top in her engrossing rivalry with Wang Shixian.
The two have played 13 times in all, with the Chinese player shading the head-to-head record 7-6. They met at the Australian Open and the Indonesian Open most recently, with Saina losing in the quarterfinals on both occasions.
“Wang Shixian and I have always been very close rivals,” Saina said here on Sunday, on the sidelines of the Usha Bangalore Ultimate Open. “We’ve been playing some very good and long matches. One person is ahead 7-6 in terms of the head-to-head record, but it’s okay. It’s always a tough match.
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“The last time I played her I had played too many tournaments; it was quite congested…4-5 tournaments back to back. Now I’m getting a break of six-seven weeks before the World Championships. I hope I get back to my best.”
With both players familiar with each other, there is seldom a great deal to separate them, Saina said.
“Both of us know each other’s game. So it’s not easy for the both of us. Whoever is fitter and stronger on that particular day wins it. Whoever is fit to take those difficult, crucial rallies will be able to win the match,” she said.
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Saina was unfazed by her twin quarterfinal defeats to Shixian. “It happens; it’s a tournament,” she said. “Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win. In Indonesia, it was a close match. But I will be facing them (the Chinese players) again in the World Championships. Let’s see how it goes.”
Saina is ranked No.2 in the BWF World rankings now but was at the top on three separate occasions this year beginning in April.
“It's not easy for anyone to be continuously at the top,” she said. “It’s a matter of time but also a matter of results: you have to win back to back. At the international level it’s not easy to maintain it.”