Praise Apri/Fadia's Quality As New Pair, Japanese Women's Doubles World Number 5: Their Defensiveness Is Strong

Japanese women's doubles Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara (Cosmas Kopong Beda/VOI)

JAKARTA — Japanese women's doubles Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara acknowledged that Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti had excellent qualities as a new pair.

The fifth-ranked pair in the world was just eliminated by Apriyani/Fadia in the first round of the Indonesia Open 2022. They were beaten in a three-game match 21-7, 17-21, and 21-17 at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday, June 15.

Matsumoto said that as a new couple, Apriyani/Fadia had chosen a promising capital. They are quite solid both in defense as well as the game in front of the net.

“Apri/Fadia's defensive strength is very strong. We attack in any way difficult to penetrate. As a result have to play on the net. Well, their game up front is also just as good," said Matsumoto after the match.

The Indonesia Open is the third championship that Apriyani/Fadia has participated in since they won gold at the Hanoi SEA Games. The other tournament they played was the Indonesia Masters last week.

Matsumoto said that Apriyani's game underwent a significant change since she was paired with Fadia. He tends to play fast and attacks a lot when compared to when he was with Greysia Polii.

"They are still easy. So they will definitely be growing more and more and for sure they will be much better. If we meet them again, we will try our best to win," he said.

Apriyani/Fadia became the second pair of women's doubles to advance to the round of 16. Previously, the second round ticket was already pocketed by the couple Febriana Dwi Puji Kusuma / Amalia Cahya Pratiwi.