Scratchy Saina stretched

Defending champion survives marathon first round at Indonesia Super Series

Defending champion Saina Nehwal survived a scare in her campaign opener as she struggled past Indonesias Lindaweni Fanetri in an energy-sapping three-game thriller at the Indonesian Super Series Premier here on Tuesday.

World number two Saina had come into the tournament on the back of some scratchy form. Returning from a fractured toe that had kept her out of the Sudirman Cup,she had lost to Singapores Juan Gu in the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open last week.

If she thought she could ease her way into the Indonesia Open,she was quickly rid of the notion. Saina had to play out of her skin against the 14th ranked Fanetri,who posed a huge threat to the Indian before surrendering 17-21 29-27 13-21 in an hour and 14 minutes in a womens singles first round match at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

The 23-year-old from Hyderabad will take on the winner of the match between Sayaka Takahashi of Japan and Thailands Porntip Buranaprasertsuk in the prequarterfinals on Wednesday. Saina,seeded second,relied on her smashes,while Fanetri dominated net play. In the opening game,Fanetri was leading 5-2 initially and it was only from tied 9-9 that Saina could get ahead of the Indonesian even though she was always breathing down her neck.

local support

The 24-year-old Indonesian,egged on by the local crowd,raised her game and engaged in a fierce battle and went into the breather with a slender 11-9 advantage in the second game. Saina battled on and turned the tables at 15-15 but even though she was just two points away from pocketing the match,Fanetri clawed back at the right time and eventually roared back into the contest after an intense fight till the end.

However,in the decider,Saina showed why she is considered one of the best in the business. While the gruelling second game took a toll on Fanetri,Sainas fitness came to her rescue as she zoomed ahead to a 5-0 lead. Thereafter the Indian just didnt allow the Indonesian to come close and at the end won the issue comfortably.

In the mixed doubles,world number 29 pair of Tarun Kona and Ashwini Ponnappa prevailed over Praveen Jordan and Vita Marissa,ranked 30,21-18 14-21 25-23 in an engrossing 53-minute battle. The Indian pair will face the seventh seeded Polish combo of Robert Mateusiak and Nadiezda Zieba in Wednesdays prequarterfinals.