Saina Nehwal Crashes Out Of Macau Open With Shock Defeat To Zhang Yiman losing by 21-12, 21-17

Saina Nehwal was stunned in straight games, 21-12, 21-17, by China's Zhang Yiman in the quarterfinals of the Macau Open on Friday, as the Indian shuttler made a premature exit from the tournament.
Saina, who has struggled to get going since her return from a serious knee injury last month, looked a pale shadow of her usual self in the last-eight clash against Yiman.
A poor start by Saina saw Yiman race into an 18-11 lead, before the Chinese world no. 226 closed out the game at 21-12.
The second game was a tighter affair, but Yiman prevailed 21-17 to draw the curtains on Saina's campaign at this year's edition of the Macau Open.
Gruelling three-game matches
Saina, who improved a place on Thursday in the world rankings to be at number 10, seemed to have been affected by the gruelling three-game matches that she played in the last two rounds here.
The 19-year-old Zhang, who is ranked at World No. 226, took an early 4-2 lead and then held a slender 9-8 lead at one stage. The young Chinese soon reeled off five straight points to jump to a 14-8 lead and kept marching ahead as Saina lost the opening game.
Saina, who had bounced back after losing the opening game in the last two matches, seemed to have changed gears as she zoomed to a 6-0 healthy lead in the second game. But Zhang came back to level the score 7-7 and surpassed her fancied rival, reaching 11-9 at the break.
Saina erased the deficit after the interval with two points but the Chinese managed to grab a 14-12 advantage and then jumped to 19-12 lead. The Indian picked up four points to narrow the gap but Zhang soon surged to seal the game and the match in her favour.

Saina Nehwal defeated Indonesia's Dinar Dyah Ayustine 17-21, 21-18, 21-12 in the Round of 16 at Macau Open Grand Prix Gold

Saina Nehwal came from behind to defeat Indonesian Dinar Dyah Ayustine 17-21, 21-18, 21-12 to enter the quarter-finals of Macau Open Grand Prix Gold on Thursday.
Like in the first round, the top-seeded Saina was stretched to the third game by her younger rival and she had to summon all her experience to prevail. She will face China's Zhang Yiman in the last eight round.
World No. 11 Saina was given a major scare by Dinar, who is currently world No. 50. Saina started the match on a strong footing taking a decent lead in the first game. However, the 22-year-old Indonesian drew level at 13-13 and then took the game 21-17.
However, Dinar was not given a chance in the second game though she matched Saina till the halfway stage. In the third game, it was all about Saina as she romped home.
Saina is the lone Indian in the women's singles category after PV Sindhu pulled out of the tournament.

Kashyap out

However, it was curtains for P Kashyap and men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy.
Kashyap, who is on a comeback trail, put up a gallant fight before losing 13-21 20-22 to Lin Yu Hsien of Chinese Taipei in a 45-minute duel.
Third seeds Manu and Sumeeth also fought hard before going down 20-22 19-21 to Singapore's Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Hendra Wijaya.
Saina's fightback
In the women's singles match, Saina blew a 11-7 lead in the opening game to see Ayustine move ahead and pocket the game. However, a determined Saina dished out a more dominating performance in the second game as she zoomed to a 11-3 lead at the break.
Ayustine slowly and steadily bridged the gap after interval and drew parity at 18-18 but the Indian ensured there was no hiccup as she bounced back into the contest.
In the decider, it was the Indonesian shuttler who held a slender 4-2 lead early on but Saina turned the tables at 5-5 and moved ahead, opening up a 11-8 lead at the interval.
Saina then reeled off four points to extend the lead and eventually sealed the match with another four-point burst.