As it happened: Kidambi Srikanth vs Lin Dan
Defending champion Kidambi Srikanth entered the quarterfinal by beating Chinese great Lin Dan 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 in the second round of the Denmark Open.
Published : Oct 19, 2018 00:34 IST
Welcome to the live commentary of the second-round match of the Denmark Open between two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan and Kidambi Srikanth.
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21-16 That's it! Srikanth reaches the quarter-final. Lin Dan delays the inevitable by a point, but Srikanth takes the match with a low smash.
20-15 Game point for Srikanth
19-14 Two more points needed for the defending champion to beat the Chinese great.
18-12 Lin Dan goes defensive to reach a drop shot near the net, but Srikanth judges it well and lets it go wide.
16-10 Srikanth has the lead but Lin Dan forces the Indian to play wide and close down the points gap.
13-7 Another misjudged smash by Srikanth hits the net helping Lin Dan reduce the gap.
10-5 Srikanth looks dominant with Lin Dan's movement across the court slowing down a bit.
8-4 Srikanth goes for a cross-court smash from the back, but hits the net.
6-2 Srikanth takes the early lead in the final set with impressive defensive game.
2-1 Lin Dan goes for a referral, but the shuttle landed well away from the baseline.
End of second game
21-17 The champion takes the second game after enduring a couple of nervous moments at the end.
19-15 Srikanth is in touching distance of taking the second game, but Dan pulls one back with a smash from near the net which almost hits Srikanth in the face.
18-12 Srikanth nears the game point.
16-11 Dan goes for back-to-back backhands makes Srikanth come back to the net, but Srikanth gets his smash to win the rally.
14-11 A weak back hand from Dan gives Srikanth times to measure his shot on the edge of the baseline.
11-10 A short break helps Dan gather his thoughts as he keeps the pressure on Srikanth winning back-to-back points.
7-5 Dan does well to judge to see out the shuttle for his fifth point. Srikanth stretches to the maximum to place his return out of Lin Dan's reach.
5-4 Pressure over long rallies is working in Lin Dan's favour, as he comes close to level points against the champion.
5-1 Srikanth builds early momentum in the second game. He gets lucky once again as the shuttles bounces off the net and drops along the net in Lin Dan's half.
1-1 Lin Dan takes the first point of the game, but Srikanth levels with a powerful smash to Lin Dan's right corner.
End of first game
18-21 Lin Dan takes the first game. Srikanth came back strongly but the early lead worked in Lin Dan's favor.
18-20 An epic rally of 35 involves both players moving diagonally, but Srikanth finally wins the battle.
16-20 After a long rally, Srikanth goes for another feather-touch backhand but it hits the net.
19-16 Lin Dan powers through and sends a powerful cross-court smash to down Srikanth.
16-17 Lin Dan commits couple of unforced errors, allowing Srikanth to come closer and restore parity.
14-16 This time Srikanth executes his back-hand to perfection and lands it perfectly out of Lin Dan's reach.
12-14 The defending champion is within the reach of Lin Dan, landing his smashes in the right areas.
11-13 Srikanth gains steam with placing his shots all across court and making Lin Dan more mobile.
7-11 Srikanth guesses the trajectory correct and gets back a point, he then gets lucky as the shuttle rolls over the net leaving Dan with no chance of a return.
5-11 Srikanth looks composed despite the early onslaught from the three time Denmark Open champion.
4-10 Srikanth's back hand gives Lin Dan ample time to smash the shuttle into the ground and out of Srikanth's reach.
4-8 A long rally ends in Srikanth winning the net game this time.
2-5 Srikanth pulls one point but Lin Dan immediately comes back with a ferocious smash.
1-3 Lin Dan races to an early lead with Srikanth's net game looking a bit rusty.
- The players take to Court 1 of the Odense Sports Park, Odense, Denmark.
- It has been a fruitful day for India, as Saina Nehwal beat second seeded Akane Yamaguchi in women's singles pre-quarterfinals, while Sameer Verma reached the men's singles quarterfinals by beating Indonesia's Jonatan Christie.
- Lin Dan, Olympic Gold medallist in the Beijing (2018) and London (2012) games, faced Srikanth in the men's singles quarterfinal of the 2016 Rio Olympics, which was the last meeting between the pair. In that match Srikanth lost a one-sided first set 6-21, but clawed back into the match to win the second set 21-11. Srikanth went down fighting in the final set which ended 18-21.
- Overall, Srikanth has faced Lin Dan four times times in his career, and picked up one win in the 2014 China Open final to lift the title.