YONEX ALL ENGLAND Day 2 – Brosolat dashes Scottish Hopes.

As the first round proper kicked off this morning in Birmingham it was Nanna Brosolat Jensen (WR 46)who had most reason to celebrate after beating Susan Hughes 99 (WR 27) from Scotland. The Dane showed no signs of a qualification hangover as she beat Hughes in three sets in one of the early matches on court. Meanwhile Marc Zwiebler, smarting a heavily bandaged thumb, showed that injury is no deterrent as he sent Boosak Ponsana home in three sets.
By Mark Phelan (Live) Photos. Badmintonphoto.com (Live in Birmingham)
Nanna Brosolat Jensentransferred her qualification form into main draw heroics as she came back from a set down to beat Susan Hughes in today’s morning session at The All England’s. Brosolat Jensen, who was a part of the Danish team who won the recent European team Championships, started slowly as she lost the opening set as Hughes dominated. Hughes was never headed in that opening salvo to take a one set lead 21-13.
Words of wisdom, after the first set, from Danish coach Lars Uhre obviously spurred Brosolat Jensen to lift her game as she took to the court for the second set. The game was finely balanced at 13-12 to the Dane but a run of 6 points without reply saw Brosolat Jensen storm into a commanding 19-21 lead and she maintained her composure to take the set 21-16.

The third set, and to coin a cliché, was literally a game of two halves. Hughes took the early initiative with some precise but aggressive play and headed her opponent 10-16. At this point the game turned on its head as Brosolat Jensen appeared to find an extra level and go on a run of 7 points without reply to leave Hughes shell-shocked. Brosolat Jensen managed to maintain her advantage, and although Hughes never gave in, the Dane managed to maintain her composure to take the set 21-17 and with it her place in tomorrow’s second round.

Meanwhile Marc Zwieblerentered the tournament with little expectations after being forced to pull out of his home Grand Prix last week with an injured thumb. The first set was a cautious affair and it was not until Ponsana (WR 12) went on a 7 point winning streak when leading 13-12 that the game opened up. Ponsana finished off the job efficiently to take the opening set 21-14.
In the second set both players once again exchanged blows early on in an effort to seize on any available weakness in their opponent. Ponsana appeared to be heading to victory when he opened out an 11-8 lead but Zwiebler immediately pounced back to win the next 7 points and before Ponsana had time to recover the German applied more pressure to take the set 21-15.
In the third set it was the German’s turn to take the upper hand in the early exchanges and worked his way tirelessly to a 15-10 lead. Ponsana, seeing his chance slipping away, regrouped to level the game at 15-15 and as bot (pjhoth players exchanged consecutive points. At this point it was anyone’s match as the large first round crowd watched intensively. Ponsana looked to have the match wrapped up at 21-19 but Zwiebler went on to win the next three points to take the match and set 22-20.
“After injuring my thumb I came her not expecting much so there was little or no pressure on me. In the first game I didn’t play well at all due to lack of practise but I sensed that he (Ponsana) was not playing that particularly well either. I had to adjust my game and be more patient which is hard for me as I’m a more of an attacking player and this worked as it helped me win that second set. In the third I still played a patient game and took my opportunities when they came my way. I am obviously delighted with this win as I really didn’t expect it. Tomorrow I will more than likely play Lee Choong Wei and once again I will go into that game with no pressure.” Said a delighted Zwiebler after his victory.
Elsewhere, in the morning session, two of the title favourites in the men’s singles had to take 3 sets to book their second round spots. Both Taufiq Hidayat and Chen Jin went to deciding rubbers in their first round games against Yu Hsin Hsieh and Kenichi Tago respectively. Part timer Jill Pittard of England was beaten in her first round singles match and there was delight when Jenny Wallwork and Gabby White finally put some smiles on the faces of the home crowds as they beat Malaysian pair Goh Liu Ying and Ng Hui Lin 22-20 in the deciding rubber.