French Open 2021: It's Not The Opponents That Are Obstacles To Fajar/Rian, But The Shuttlecock And Field Lighting

Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The third-seeded men's doubles Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto advanced to the last 16 of the French Open 2021 after adapting to overcome the technical conditions of the field which were considered unfavorable, Tuesday night Paris time.

In the match in the opening round, Fajar/Rian for the first time met Scottish men's doubles Alexander Dunn/Adam Hall and won 21-14, 21-14.

"What's different from the shuttlecock is that the pitch itself is almost the same. But we use field three which is a bit dark, while courts one and two are lighter", Rian said about the match, as reported by Antara, Wednesday.

Fajar/Rian's game in the first round of the BWF Super 750 tournament did not encounter any obstacles from the opponent's aspect, they even scored an advantage from the beginning of the game.

In the first game, the Indonesian men's doubles strengthened the gap by adding four points in a row when the score was 8-6 to 12-6.

Likewise, in the second game, Fajar/Rian again recorded four consecutive points, even at the beginning of the game.

Alexander/Adam who equalized 3-3, were left by Fajar/Rian with a score of 3-7. Even so, the world number 37 men's doubles can catch up by securing three points in a row.

Fajar / Rian also confirmed their advantage by moving away from their opponent after the second interval with a score of 15-8 and not being overtaken until the game was over.

"Alhamdulillah, today the match was smooth, safe, and won. For now, we tried to focus, starting from the beginning and making the game comfortable. Adapting again to the shuttlecock and the field", Rian said.

Next in the second round, Fajar/Rian will meet the host pair, namely Christo Popov/Toma Junior Popov.

Indonesia's world number one men's doubles, Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon also qualified for the second round without competing in the first round.

Kevin/Marcus got a bye from Danish men's doubles Koel Eipe/Rasmus Kjaer, and will next meet German men's doubles Mark Lamsfuss/Marvin Seidel in the last 16.