Saina Nehwal vs Tai Tzu Ying Highlights, Denmark Open Final: Valiant Saina Nehwal Goes Down Fighting In Denmark Open Final To Tai Tzu

A valiant Saina Nehwal went down fighting to world number one Tai Tzu Ying in the 2018 Denmark Open final match on Sunday. Saina Nehwal lost 13-21, 21-13, 6-21 to her Chinese Taipei opponent in a match that lasted almost for an hour. Tai Tzu Ying continued her dominance over Saina Nehwal as the latter's winless record continued. Her head-to-head record against Tai Tzu Ying stands at 6-12 now. Saina last defeated Tai Tzu in 2013. This year, world number 10 Saina has lost all her four matches against Tai Tzu before this final, the last being the semifinal clash in the Asian Games in Jakarta in August. The first game saw Tai Tzu convincingly beat Saina 21-13. Saina could not fathom what went wrong in the first game as Tai Tzu maintained her dominance over her Indian opponent. The second game saw Saina fightback with a solid display and won it 21-13 to take the match into the deciding game. The third and final game saw Saina devoid of any ideas and was completely outclassed 6-21 by Tai Tzu.

Highlights Between Saina Nehwal vs Tai Tzu Ying, Denmark Open 2018 Badminton Women's Singles Final at Denmark

16:33 IST: And its over. Tai Tzu Ying beats Saina Nehwal 21-13, 13-21, 21-6 to win the Denmark Open.

16:30 IST: This is going to be a tall ask for Saina Nehwal. No wonder Tai Tzu Ying is the world number one. Tai Tzu Ying 14-5 Saina Nehwal

16:26 IST: Nine straight points for Tai Tzu Ying. She is in a commanding position now. Tai Tzu Ying 11-2 Saina Nehwal

16:24 IST: Tai Tzu Ying is leading Saina by 4 points. Nehwal 7-2 Tai Tzu Ying

16:22 IST: Tai Tzu Ying leads Saina 2-1 early on the decider.

16:21 IST: Third game begins.

16:20 IST: Decider game. Will Saina Nehwal win this or Tzy Ying replicate her first game form?

16:18 IST: Saina Nehwal beats Tzy Ying 21-13 in the second game to come to level terms.

16:18 IST: Game point for Saina Nehwal.

16:18 IST: Challenge taken. Tai Tzy Ying gets the point.Saina Nehwal 19-13 Tai Tzy Ying

16:16 IST: This is unbelievable stuff. This has to be the longest rally and Saina Nehwal wins it. Saina Nehwal 18-11 Tai Tzy Ying

16:11 IST: Saina Nehwal is tiring out Tai Tzy Ying in the second game. Kudos to Saina for her dominant display. Saina Nehwal 15-9 Tai Tzy Ying

16:09 IST: A point for Tai Tzy Ying. But Saina still leads her 12-8

16:07 IST: What a smash. Saina Nehwal is all fired up in this second game. Chants of Bharat Mata ki jai reverberates inside the stadium after Saina Nehwal won that point. At the mid-break of the second game, Saina Nehwal leads Tai Tzy Ying 11-5

16:04 IST: Lack of application cost Tai Tzu a point. Good stuff from Saina Nehwal in the second game. She is playing very well indeed. Saina Nehwal 8-3 Tai Tzy Ying

16:02 IST: Saina is dominating the second game. She has to win this game. She looks more attentive now than in the first game. 41 shots rally between these two. The longest for today. Saina Nehwal 4-2 Tai Tzy Ying

15:59 IST: Saina Nehwal serves.

15:59 IST: The second game begins.

15:56 IST: Tai Tzy Ying wins first game 21-13 against Saina Nehwal. What a resounding first game win.

15:55 IST: Tai Tzu Ying is 2 points away from this opening game. Game point for Tai Tzy Ying now.

15:55 IST: Saina Nehwal wins a point but Tai Tzu Ying makes sure she keeps the pressure on Saina. Saina looks tired and she seems to have no response to Ying's smashes. Tai Tzu Ying leads Saina Nehwal 18-13

15:54 IST: Saina Nehwal is slowly fighting back. She trails 11-16 to Tai Tzu Ying

15:52 IST: Brilliant smash there by Saina. She gets her point. Tai Tzu Ying leads Saina Nehwal 15-11

15:50 IST: Saina Nehwal is clawing back into this game. Despite her opponent's advantage, Saina is reducing the deficit now. Tai Tzu Ying leads Saina Nehwal 13-8

15:46 IST: Fantastic pressure by Saina Nehwal. The first period of the first game see Tzu Ying have a 6-point advantage over Saina Nehwal. Tai Tzu Ying leads Saina Nehwal 11-5

15:45 IST: Saina is staging a comeback now. Tai Tzu Ying leads Saina Nehwal 8-3

15:44 IST: Fantastic rally between these two. 38 shots. Tai Tzu Ying leads Saina Nehwal 5-1

15:43 IST: Tai Tzu Ying leads 4-1 at the moment in the first game. A slight lapse in concentration costs Saina Nehwal early on.

15:40 IST: The first game gets underway.

15:35 IST: Saina Nehwal last defeated Tai Tzu in 2013 and since then the Chinese Taipei shuttler has been victorious in the last 10 matches. Can Saina Nehwal stage an upset or will Tai Tzu Ying continue her dominance over her Indian opponent?

15:30 IST: So we are here with the summit clash. The much-awaited clash is about to begin.

14:45 IST: Hello and welcome to the live match updates from the final of the Denmark Open between Saina Nehwal and Tai Tzu Ying

In the semifinal match against Tunjung, it was, however, a cakewalk for Saina as she completely dominated from start to finish in both the games. With Parupalli Kashyap, with whom she is getting married later this year, cheering her at the corner of the court, Saina reeled off easy points one after the other with her Indonesian rival not giving much resistance.

Saina was 10-4 ahead in no time and extended the lead to 17-8 before pocketing the first game in just 13 minutes. Tunjung gave a semblance of a fight in the second game which lasted a bit longer than the first.

Earlier today, defending champion Kidambi Srikanth was knocked out of the Denmark Open 2018 after losing 16-21, 12-21 in 44 minutes to world no 1 Kento Momota in 44 minutes. The first game started on an even note before Momota took a slender 11-10 lead at mid-break and then went on to win the game 21-16.