World No. 3 P.V. Sindhu struggled in her opener against Vietnam’s Vu Thi Trang before emerging a 21-10, 12-21, 23-21 winner here on Thursday.
It appeared easy for Sindhu when she led 14-5 and 19-9 in the opening game. But once Vu — the World No. 52 — settled down, Sindhu realised that she was up against a tricky opponent.
With the Indian frequently misjudging the lines and committing errors, Vu led 17-11 in the second game and grew in confidence as the match went to the decider.
Sindhu led 16-12 in the final game but Vu fought her way back. The scores were level at 18 and at one stage Sindhu was so worried with the lines that she appeared to focus her attack on the centre of the court.
Edging ahead
The two enjoyed a net-cord point each towards the end but Sindhu edged ahead to 21-20 and this was when she lost her cool when the line judge called a shot out.
“That was in,” said Sindhu and rushed to the umpire but it was turned down and the two were level at 21. A little later, she heaved a sigh of relief when she won the close battle.
“I was angry because it was a crucial point… may be, after that if she had got two net cords, I would have lost the match,” said Sindhu. “You never know because each point was important for both of us.”
The Indian said she was playing Vu for the first time and that could be one reason why it turned out to be a difficult encounter.
Though Sindhu appears to have an easy draw compared to Saina Nehwal, who has the World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying and Japanese Nozomi Okhuhara in her half, her next match against Gregoria Mariska — who has raised her game impressively playing at home here — could be a tricky affair too.
World No. 10 Saina Nehwal brushed aside Iran’s Soraya 21-7, 21-9 and entered the pre-quarterfinal.
