PV Sindhu ended a six-match losing streak against world number one Tai Tzu Ying with a come-from-behind victory in Group B to virtually seal her spot in the semi-finals of the BWF World Tour Finals in Guangzhou, China, on Thursday.
Sindhu, who had lost six consecutive matches against the Chinese Taipei shuttler, looked all at sea in the opening game. However, she not only found her composure but also her attacking spirit as she fought back to take the match 14-21, 21-16, 21-18 in an hour and one minute.
The opening game was a typical Tai Tzu masterclass as she controlled the rallies and came up with delectable drop shots to catch Sindhu on the wrong foot. But the world number one was also guilty of making quite a few errors while playing her trademark net dribbles and smashes. Sindhu did well to keep her composure and belief to capitalise on them.
Moving to a better side of the court after losing the opening game, Sindhu began pushing Tai Tzu to the back court. Her quick hand movement, coupled with flat pushes from the net, meant that her opponent could not come under the shuttle to use her variations with authority.
The game plan also forced Tai Tzu to make more errors while looking for points, as Sindhu forced the decider with her opponent’s body language beginning to show susceptibility.
However, Tai Tzu came back strongly at the start of the third game and raced to a 11-6 lead and it was clear that the match would be decided on how well the players managed to hold their nerves.
While Sindhu was clearly going to play from the better side, she needed to control her nerves as she closed in on a victory. The world number one needed to find a way to control the rallies like she did in the first half of the game.
And this time around, Sindhu showed the mental resolve to stick to the game plan of playing fast and hustling her opponent. The Indian took eight of the next 10 points to take the lead at 14-13 and did not let her guard down as she earned four match points.
Tai Tzu managed to save two of them with some deft stroke-making but Sindhu kept pace with her opponent in the next rally that went beyond 30 strokes. The Indian was eventually rewarded when the Taipei shuttler hit her sliced drop wide, with the Indian sprawled on the court and too drained to even celebrate.