DANISA Denmark Open 2020 | Day 6: Fukushima/Hirota (JPN) [1] vs Matsumoto/Nagahara (JPN) [2]

so welcome back to finals day here at the denisa denmark open terrific men's doubles to get us off to a flying start on finals day with ellis and langritch coming through against ivanov and sosanov so next up is women's doubles and this is the very highest quality because it is a repeat of the last two world championship finals featuring the former denmark open champions fukushima and hirota up against the two-time reigning world champions matsumoto and nagahara when we look at the race to the world tour finals in the women's doubles we can see four korean pairs three japanese pairs two chinese pairs but six of the top ten pairs have contested a final at a qualifying event you can see at number nine fukushima and hirota now whether they win or lose today's final they will shoot up eight places to number one the current world champions matsumoto and nagahara are way down at 25 at the moment and by my calculations even if they win today's final they still won't get into that top 10 on that list well as far as the women's doubles draw is concerned we only started the tournament with six seeds and all six seeds made it through to the quarter final stage only two in the top half of the draw now the third quarter on quarter finals day was actually a repeat of the 2018 european championship final and a special mention should be made of lafell coming back after a ruptured achilles this time last year many people thought her career was over so wonderful to see the french left-hander back in action again blueprint championship bronze medalists forgot and tourism who had been in the final of the indonesian masters were they were beaten by the world champions in two straight games so as you can see at seven semi-final stage we had three seeds and three different nationalities two japanese players who have julie made it through to today's final perhaps mention should be made of the danish youngsters christine bush and amelia schulz the tall left-hander what a tournament they've had and congratulations to them and as far as danish fans are concerned i'm sure the women's doubles as indeed the men's doubles with some younger players coming through are very much encouraging for the future of danish badminton but here come the former so training world champions in the pink kits and the former champions here in denmark in the blue kit yuki fukushima is 27 years of age born in yatsushiro city in kumamoto prefecture on the island of youtube up one place on the world rankings after the all england after winning the all england number two but did spend a total of 42 weeks as world number one sayaka hirota is a year younger than three world championship finals they have contested and they've lost all three as far as this pair is concerned who had a buy in the first round eflo and kirk trick in the second round three tough games against the european games silver medalist chloe burch and lauren smith from england and the semi-final against bush and schultz they were actually 7 15 down in the first game and from 7 15 down only dropped another nine points in the match so to their opponents and the taller of the two myu matsumoto 25 years of age born on the northernmost of the main four islands the island of hokkaido they went down after the all england championships where they lost in the quarterfinal down to number three in the world rankings but they spent 27 weeks as world's number ones haven't had the best of years and they've only played three tournaments but the world champions have in fact only played two tournaments world champions that was disappointing number six seats in the quarter final four war and tuition semi-final against the european champions the sisters gabriella and stephanie stoyava and if you were with us yesterday you will have seen that one very very comfortable second game against the bulgarians so our court officials from estonia iris mitzpalou and vanilla from finland is our service judge well we've had two previous all japanese women's doubles finals here at the denmark open since the inception of the super series in 2007 that was in 2010 and two years ago when the former champions fukushima and hirota far side of the courts beat tanaka and yonimoto ladies and gentlemen on my right yuki fukushima japan so the former champions here at the denmark open yuki fukushima and getting this final underway against the world champions no good start unlocking smash well it's four years morton since we last had a number one against number two seed in the final of the women's doubles but that said it's the only discipline this year where the number one and two seeds have actually turned up and played yes that's true that's true but again if excuse me if we look at the performance of the players through the tournament here just like in the men's doubles when i mentioned that i think the english player has played better during the tournament than the russians i here feel that uh the world champions at samoto and nakahara have played by far the best badminton of the two players in the tournament and therefore in my book they look like the sort of favorite to win this one here today but of course as we always say today is a new day you never know what's happening absolutely but just looking at how it all went through this week i think that matsumoto and nakahara are in my book the favorites to win well here's an interesting stat for you morton fukushima and hirota have contested three super 750 finals previously they've never lost they've never lost no they have a fantastic track record as a partnership they have won so many tournaments in 17 18 and 19. yeah really really done japan proud yeah nine finals in 2018 five finals last year winning four titles but specifically at 750 events 33 finals won three finals yeah i usually also say when i commentate on the partnership that you know you have to spare a thought for them having lost three finals at the world championship not only having lost three finals but how close is the spin yeah four two oh yes good work by nagahara but i also think it's interesting that you know we have for years have three japanese pairs all the way to the top but now one pair has decided not to play anymore and not uh sort of contest or try to qualify for the olympics in tokyo which means that these two pairs are more or less secured to go where before it was this sort of three-way it could go anywhere and you know that was very very exciting to watch now it's cut down to two yeah and of course it is the reigning olympic champions is actually going to continue to play but just going to concentrate on mixed doubles apparently that's a great smash well this for the world champions is a fourth super 750 tournament final and it's a fourth different 750 tournament final they won the french open in 2018 and last year lost the fuji china open and sorry that was in 2018 japan open final last year so four of the five super 750s that exist they've contested the final now five six ah into the lead you cannot afford the idea the placement is very interesting going for the sideline beautiful beautiful drop shot from matsumoto great disguise service over nine seven nice i think wide really adjusted to the sideways drift both pairs getting wide they drift as we're looking down on the court right now from right to left short ten eight yeah shuffle obviously bounced first yeah excellent tennis it was a jolly good half folly wasn't it it was well it is the former denmark open champions who have the advantage at the mid-game interval three-point advantage i really understand uh motor there was a massive gap on that block that she wanted to play but uh unfortunately her technique her racquet technique let her down on it but that's a massive gap well there's no coaching staff involved because it's too japanese pair under the guidance of the national federation so the japanese coaches just leaving the players to their own devices so i can give you a quiz question oh no i haven't prepared anything last player to win two women's doubles titles here now i've given you a clue because it's a player not a pair yeah i heard that very recently yeah 11 8 kareem i'm helping yes you are lee sohi no jung kyung 2015 with shin seong chan and last year with big harness on for that last pair to win two titles here which is obviously what fukushima and hirota are trying to emulate last pair was a chinese pair olympic gold in women's doubles it was young yeah new young of course was this olympic gold and bronze medalist in women's doubles and mixed doubles in beijing well from 3 6 down to 14 8 up that's 11 of 13 points what on earth has happened to the world champions another one drifts long fifteen eight six straight points yep so much for my prediction so far i have to admit but the game the match is not over yet this is just incredible eight straight points 17 14 of the last 16 points important here for matsumoto and nakahara is to close the gap a bit get into it get some points and and start afresh in the second game get a little bit of confidence back into this because at the moment it doesn't look too good nice change of pace from fukushima 18 8. yeah well played that's good placement from fukushima their first match on matsumoto really well placed and then forcing the the short lift she's been serving extremely well as well yeah 10 straight points so quite possibly the longest valley of the match so far definitely the longest rally of the match so far but that one drifts along and their runner points comes to an end but that's ten straight points that's basically determined and they are challenging but i don't think that oh it's closer than i thought with you there more so those ten straight points i think has determined this opening game i can't envisage your way back nine from 9 19 we were discussing the other day about players coming back from 11 19. i remembered who i was thinking about kirsty gilmore did it in the commonwealth games commentating on it against teaching yeah from malaysia so true yeah that was extraordinary i think it was the semi-final yes it was the semi-final 11 19 down and she won it 21-19 much to the delight of the scottish fans yes bomb crowd and everything yeah good smash game point opportunities 20 game points 10. opening game 21 10 having been three six down that is an extraordinary run by fukushima and today you have the chance to win 15 minutes for the opening game who would ever have thought excited to be ready to quiz with us just before the next match um 20 seconds 20 seconds the players returned to courts after that's fairly astonishing opening game with yuki fukushima and sayaka hirota romping through the opening game 21-10 second game and we certainly didn't predict that did we mortal no certainly i didn't predict it yeah but that's why we love sport because it's so unpredictable you just never know i think she meant it putting that away that wasn't going to come back one block strong interception there by matsumoto one hole there was a softer smash that time from fukushima just disturbed the rhythm on the defense of matsumoto i think it's interesting because you and i we have discussed it so often that matsumoto and nakahara is a different kind of fish in the women's doubles camp of japan they play differently they are much more aggressive they're much more attacking they are searching they're hunting they are working hard but they are really mixing up and have great variety in their attack and today so far it's down side by side and hardly actually any attacks yeah compared to what we normally see from them yeah also i want to add to that going back to your initial point about who's played better of these two pairs throughout the tournament and the fact that this pair we're looking at right now uh struggled in their quarterfinal against chloe burch and lauren smith yes and i wonder whether that three-game match has actually sort of sharpened them up a bit and and got them into the into the groove yes because i think the world champions won all of their matches so comfortably that perhaps they haven't really got up to full speed and full sharpness yet it could be could be sometimes you just need a tough match to oh yes i'm going to get going from fukushima five one other interesting thing to take into account here morton is the fact that none of the training in japan during the uh global lockdown has been centralized they've all been back in their uh clubs or companies yes respectively yeah so these two pairs won't have been training against each other recently yeah that's a good interception from matsumoto two five okay extremely focused serving well attacking well one of the things that we sometimes when we have done commentary on fukushima and hiroshi saying that their attack doesn't count that much as other attacks it's like they are not paying enough attention to placement and so on and today fukushima has really paid attention to placements so oh that's too flat that smash got away with it how did that happen seven three had that have come over and they would have been in big trouble wouldn't they that's good good shot great backhand come on yeah it wasn't just the interception it was an awkward shot and look at that delicate little blog that very well played the world champions have got to start turning this match around if they want to win this denmark open title it's going wide five eight have to try and get themselves on the attack a little bit more matsumoto and nagahara six eight me that's wild i just sense perhaps a turning of the tide here me too and there was an incident when matt motor is serving a few points back and fukushima was receiving there's a little bit of tension between the two i think a little bit of a collective war between the two about being ready and not ready and so on try to have a look again here that's a good five straight points and at all it's fine there's that psychological battle again morton yeah i think so fukushima wanted to change the shuttle and matsumoto said no and matsumoto is holding herself for quite a while and i think that's what fukushima sort of tried to point the attention on to let's go wide nine so six straight points and into the lead um oh she's found the line that's terrific that was a lovely shot from herrota and this is what we've discussed on many occasions she very much favors to go down the center of the court and we've said why not give it a little bit of anger why not try something else and here we saw she can do it yeah ready this is the sort of attacking play we're used to seeing from the world champions great aggression sustain the attack world champions with a two-point advantage and eight of the last nine points extraordinary it's a fun fact about these two fukushima and hirota actually played against each other in the final of the 2016 spanish international the pair that was sort of player of the year 2017 or most improved but it's interesting because they actually formed their partnership at the 2013 korean grand prix gold so they've been playing together for a while and then they went to the spanish international challenger played with different partners and then played against each other in the final yeah but it's always good to do that sometimes i think and get a different inspiration from other people to play with yeah oh yes you can't afford to lose shot against matsumoto at the next yes in 2017 the partnership won the most improved player of the year award and this is fukushima and hirota yes oh 13 9 change please have 11 points 14 nine this is extraordinary how does this happen morton at this level eleven of twelve points in the first twelve points i i think first of all standing on the side where matsumoto and nakahara are standing now you feel more comfortable when you're lifting because you're playing against the drift yeah so that's of course one issue but sometimes you get these breaks which means that you get good run of points and and no matter what you do things seem to go right and then you know the opponent is not really able to stop the train from running and you know you get these kind of situations play oh goodness take that what a smash now that's the sort of angle that you were talking about earlier morton yep she is playing more angles than what we normally see her play look at that perfect away from being a great shot it's getting wide 15 12. 13 15 oh it's getting wide fought their way back and now just one point the deficit five of the last six points now to fukushima and hirota it's extraordinary isn't it it is and um i mean they're trying 100 in every rally it's just an extraordinary sequence of points and i think that fukushima and hirota possibly especially fukushima she has worked on areas of her game and really trying to improve it over the past six seven months while we've had this break i really see that that she's trying to do other things that what she normally would do oh my goodness yeah she did well to get the first smash back fukushima that was right down the line it was beautiful accuracy on that smash i think it was from matsumoto it was yeah this one good reactions 17 14. hey uh it's a clever return of sir there's just enough pace on it to nagahara into trying to intercept oh yes it's come back in sideways drift sounds like we have a storm in the hall it's actually very very little but nevertheless it does influence and i think the sideways drift is more significant than the lengthwise drift uh 16 18. let's go long story silver two points away from the second game now the number two seeds and reigning world champions oh well it was a nice idea across the body because matsumoto does stand committed to the backhand defense very often came towards the right shoulder but it just went along with the back line and now we've got game point opportunities for the world champions to level this final at one game a piece play it's one game all 2116 the second game in favor of matsumoto 21 16 one game 20 seconds 20 seconds final game level play so the third and deciding game world champions against the winners of the denmark opened two years ago yuki fukushima and sangaka very silver one fukushima she did yeah not surprised look so short service over two one service over two whole service over three two okay yeah that's a poor block from matsumoto yeah she knows it tapping her ratchet handle on the court surface i think the ends are making quite a difference you know in this match five two but it's also because women's doubles is relying a lot on being able to play really good length when they're in the in their defense so perhaps that's the reason why it seems to play a big role at the moment so the silver three five do you know that's one of the things that players could actually practice at home you don't need a very big apartment to be able to practice the low serve that's true seven three a good response from that motor guiding into that mid court area four seven this shot here that's well played so five seven ready service over eight five good pace change my face was really anticipating waiting for it for exactly that shot vicious deflection let's see what nakahara can do this time that was better much better oh good defense from fukushima and she smiles i wonder if she's 10. i thought that was a bit of a mishit i thought it was really well played but maybe it was not intentional ah it was it's a perfect shot yeah maybe just couldn't contain her delight yes it's a good shot eleven six interval good serve and it's a five point advantage for the former champions fukushima and herrota would you have challenged that uh one difficult because only two challenges now you've got the better end you might need it towards the end of the match challenges yeah i i do think that some players waste challenges early on when it's not significant but that could be significant because it's in my mind that as play was in progress had fukushima and hirota built up a big enough lead to be able to hang on when they're at the end that's considered not quite as good to play from so if they're just challenged and maybe got an extra couple of points the world champions could it's terribly difficult isn't it it is well we haven't actually had a challenge in this women's doubles so far have we are you ready not enough in my memory i don't think we had a challenge in the men's doubles either 11-6 play we are well worked by matsumoto and nagahara service over seven eleven i do like the way this player matsumoto is decisive from the net especially on the last one yeah that's good play from fukushima oh my goodness this is hotting up twelve seven yeah this time it was well attacked by nakahara comeback is on this way isn't it yeah do you remember who chose ends i knew you would ask me i'll give you one task today i knew you would ask and i can't remember yeah that's a nice shot isn't it careful placement flat over the net now just two points in it one of the reasons why i asked about he chose ends because japanese players are notorious for when they win the toss saying receive which i simply don't understand no that's true we can clearly see from this match there's a better end to play from yeah and when you anticipate tough matches very close matches it would be nice to be standing on the good end at the very end yeah in the third and final game 13 10. oh uh oh goodness raises the hand in apology but that was superb from fukushima 10 yeah so far she has been the best player on court i think and that's perfection oh that's a lovely shop yeah a little hold and push from wakana nakahara in fact the cross-court block initially changed the momentum of the rally but that final push was superb ah yes 12 14 just two points in it now is just thought what a lovely serve once again from this lady matsumoto she took no chance she flicked it well a little bit lucky with the neck chords had some more talk thirteen fourteen seven of the last nine points yes fukushima is kind of keeping them in the match i know they are 15 13 up but she'd play some good solid shots two winners and they're spinning that shots well oops oh yes that's an excellent rally all four players playing their parts 16 13. change okay so do you think it's decisive enough i saw was just going through my own head morton yeah i don't think so you know the the run of points that we've seen in this match i still feel that anything can happen i think this is a big big rally though 1813 now five-point advantage and i think this might be decisive oh oh it's getting out it's all fast and furious isn't it it is yeah clever it's changing the pace fukushima ah brilliance matsumoto she is devastating at the front of the courts 14 18 good hard work from the back by uh nakahara supporting and giving good opportunity for matsumoto oh my goodness got back the neck cord i cannot believe the reactions all strings went in the racket of nagahara and that could be very costly indeed yeah what a time 40. okay ready misses one at the front of the courts myu matsumoto and that miss means that the former champions from two years ago have six match point opportunities service silver oh that's very well saved 15 20. riley so this could be the longest run of the match oh yeah that's motor is really feeling the pace ah would you believe it well a second match point has been saved oh what a rally probably the longest of the match so far yeah 111 shots must be the longest of the tournament i wouldn't be surprised thank you 60 20. uh i actually think the first one as well was going long yeah so now things could get edgy three match points have come and gone this will remain come on well well well it's really lucky for matsumoto and nakahara that is much more to that serving could you imagine it would have been nakahara having a serve a little bit up and down you remember the world championship final last year in basel there was something yes there was 15 20 down in the deciding game it goes what 23 21 doesn't it yeah yeah they were 14 20 down they couldn't do it again could they oh no what a disappointing way for such a terrific match to end and she'd serve so well throughout matsumoto but makes her first service error or match point and it means that the champions for two from two years ago yuki fukushima and sayaka herota win a second title here at the denmark open women's doubles 21-18 in the deciding game in a match lasting i knew it i i actually think there's a thought on fukushima for moving for moving too fast on that surf she was way out the blocks well academic now because it wasn't called but an hour and 11 minutes of fascinating badminton so the first pair for six years to win two titles here at the denmark open after wang sio lee and new young first one in 2011 and then again a second title in 2014. but as i was telling you earlier has won two titles but in different partnerships 2015 with shin young chan and last year with beckham a huge congratulations to yuki fukushima and sayaka hirota the first win in five matches against the world champions that's that's going to be significant because at least appears chances are that they might meet later on in the next 12 months to come and it could be very significant maybe you and i we were sit chatting about our can you remember the denmark open where they actually broke it you know they yeah get got back into it i wouldn't be surprised don't meet him so for mayu matsumoto from japan fukushima four world tour super 750 event finals four titles a second here at the denmark open two years after their first yeah protocol dictates that the players must put the medals on themselves in these strange times in which we live yes and the trophy is handed well i think we've also got to mention more than the fact that the top two japanese pairs made the trip because in the singles disciplines and the other just doubles disciplines uh it's only been independent players in the men's singles and the women's singles who have made the trip here to denmark open from japan and all the men's doubles pairs there was four seated men's doubles pairs they all pulled out of the drawer so thank you to these two pairs for making the trip and playing and producing such a wonderful final as well i couldn't agree with you more hsbc bwf world tour title in total so well coming up next we'll have women's singles and it features two former world champions the olympic champion carolina marin against nozomi okuhara beaten finalist last year so so welcome back to london's sports park finals day at the denise of denmark open our first and finals both gone the full distance both excellent matches next up

Channel: BWF TV

Views: 346,869

Rating: 4.7851958 out of 5

Keywords: #HSBCbadminton, #BWF, #badminton, 2020, #BWFWorldTour, #HSBCRaceToGuangzhou, DANISA Denmark Open I 2020, wt_2020, HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750, Denmark Open, m_EC15A629-1E6E-4CF5-BB3B-8BA4A14B0C87_190, p_71023, Yuki FUKUSHIMA, p_94519, Sayaka HIROTA, p_81609, Mayu MATSUMOTO, p_77832, Wakana NAGAHARA, r_Final, t_EC15A629-1E6E-4CF5-BB3B-8BA4A14B0C87

Id: 2V1Wj8bAuMI

Length: 88min 1sec (5281 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 18 2020