This week we are in Almere, Netherlands for the Dutch Open. Saturday was a semifinal day which gave a number of eye-catching results.
One such notable result was Russia's fifth seeded pair Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov valiantly taking on number one seeds from Taiwan Liao Min Chun and Su Ching Heng in the men's doubles. The Russians, ranked twenty-fifth in the world, ten places behind their opponents, had it all to do after failing to capitalise on an incredible start to the match, being 7-2 up. They stalled again at 19-17 up to agonisingly lose the opening game.
Despite this, they managed to put this behind them and took control of the second game, forcing a decider. In the last game, the Taiwanese pair tried all they could to impose themselves, but Ivanov and Sozonov kept the pressure on and came out comfortable winners in the end, 19-21, 21-12, 21-13.
We got nervous
Speaking after the victory which books their spot in Sunday’s final, Sozonov spoke about what happened at the end of the first game.
-We had a good start, but after a few mistakes we had nerves which lost us the game.
Things were much better in the second game, so they were asked what made the difference.
-The coach told us to just find our best shots and for me to find the net more to get Vladimir at the back. We played a good game and had confidence which we hope to bring tomorrow in the final.
For the full results and fixtures, click
here.