Jacco Arends and mixed doubles partner Selena Piek did not book a spot in the quarterfinals when they earlier on Thursday lost to Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti from Indonesia.
The Dutch got off to a good start and played with plenty of energy, which saved them from four game points in the first game. But by the fifth one, they could not stand their ground and lost; 25-23.
- I think it was a bit of a tricky start for the both of us. There weren’t a lot of rallies, only with first, three, four, five shots. And I think in the end they were just a little bit sharper in that area.
Arends mentioned that they were able to pick themselves back up after the defeat and brought a lot of energy into to the second game. This was paid off as they won it; 21-14.
A great serve
The third game started badly once again for Piek and Arends and to make things worse their opponents began to serve well. Their great serve put them in a good position afterwards which put the Dutch under pressure from the beginning of the rallies.
- I think they started to serve very well. Our serve was not that good anymore so those quick points we made before, we were not able to make again, Selena Piek explained.
- To win this match we should have stayed more disciplined, and, taken the front court more and half court more away from them. We made it too easy for them.
Happy with the overall performance
- I think yesterday or the day before that we played a really solid match, so we are really happy with that win. But we would have liked to be a little bit more consistent, I think that is why we are a bit disappointed right now, Arends said.
Another Dutch mixed doubles Imke Van Der Aar and Jelle Maas lost in straight games earlier on Wednesday. The same was the case for Netherlands’ men’s singles player Mark Caljouw.
Maas got a second chance in his men’s doubles with Robin Tabeling against Liao and Su from Chinese Taipei. But not even an exciting comeback in the second game could turn it around for them. They lost in three games; 21-15, 18-21, 21-17, which leaves the Netherlands out of the 2018 German Open for good.