Hendra / Ahsan Penetrated Semifinal Thailand Open II
JAKARTA - Indonesian men's doubles Hendra Setiawan / Mohamad Ahsan advanced to the semifinals of Thailand Open 2021 after eliminating the British representative pair Ben Lane / Sean Vendy with two straight games 21-14, 21-13 in the last eight.
In the quarter-final match which took place at the Impact Arena Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, the men's doubles nicknamed The Daddies ended their opponent's resistance in just 29 minutes.
"I think we played well today. It was not easy to beat them, but we did attack from the start so we could take advantage of the field," Hendra explained, as reported by BWF through his official website.
In the first half, Hendra / Ahsan immediately heated up the engine and gave Ben / Sean non-stop pressure. The second seeded pair successfully left their opponents without facing significant counterattacks.
Entering the second game, Ben / Sean changed the game pattern and overwhelmed Hendra / Ahsan in the first interval. The two pairs were involved in attacks and chasing the score to a level 8-8.
However, Hendra / Ahsan who were more senior were able to handle the pressure and control the rhythm of the match before the first interval ended. After the early interval, The Daddies continued to score an advantage and ensure victory with straight games.
"I feel happy because we lost in the quarter-finals of the previous tournament. My calf is still a little sore but better than yesterday. I will fight so that tomorrow I can win," said Ahsan.
In the last four, Hendra / Ahsan will meet Taiwanese sixth seed Lee Yang / Wang Chi-Lin's men's doubles. The record of the two meetings shows the superiority for The Daddies with a score of 6-2, with their last match occurring in the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters 2020.
"We will meet Lee / Wang in the next round. They won last week, we will try our best for tomorrow," said Hendra about his preparation for the semifinals.