There was little hope among the Indian fans even before Saina Nehwal entered the centre court to face Tai Tzu Ying, the best player in women's badminton, in the very first round of the All England Open. Tai had won the last seven contests against Saina, with the latest one coming in January, a straight two-games victory in the Indonesia Masters. The pundits predicted an easy win for Tai. And it was an easy win, as the defending champion from Chinese Taipei brushed aside Saina 21-14, 21-18.
The belief, the stamina, the movement, the momentum, the rhythm, the sleight of hand. On every front, Saina was exposed. Saina was so helpless that she admitted as much after the match. "It is tough to play with someone who is at the top level and against whom your record is not good," Saina told ESPN after the match.
Asked to analyse where she lost the match, Saina pointed out it was mainly her inconsistency, both with the movement and in reading Tai's strokes. "She was pretty stronger with the longer rallies till the end. Till 14-all it was quite good and then suddenly two, three errors and then it turned totally - 18-14, 19-14. Those two, three points may be I could have kept it (in play) instead of just lifting it up, and hit to the net. Those points were very, very crucial when you play someone at the highest level. Every point counts. So you can't just play anything like that."
Saina's biggest strengths that catapulted her to the top of the world rankings were her retrieving skills and a deadly smash. However, since the right knee injury she suffered during the Rio Olympics, Saina's court movement has been inconsistent, allowing opponents to expose that area.
Tai has used that to her advantage in the past and once again she followed the same routine. Tai rushed to a 9-4 lead before unforced errors allowed Saina to come back. A deft backhand flick at the net followed by a strong rally which she finished with another good slanted forehand stroke that her opponent could not retrieve allowed Saina to draw level at 10-all.
At 14-all, Saina missed an easy return stroke to her right allowing Tai a small opening. Two further unforced errors from the Indian made it 17-14 for Tai. The World no. one swiftly wrapped the first game with a lovely overhead crosscourt which Saina was late to retrieve.
Saina started strongly in the second, although it was her opponent's weak shots that allowed the Indian to take 9-4 lead. To her chagrin, Tai committed four unforced errors in a row, allowing Saina to take a decisive 16-11 lead. However, Tai pulled back the lead by regaining her rhthym as she started moving Saina to all parts of the court. At 19-all, given the opportunity to smash, Tai just did that and finished the match on the next point.
Saina also agreed that she was stranded one too many times for her own comfort and Tai used her trademark deception to dominate. "I did not really see she got me outright. It was just longer rallies and then the deceptive drop shots. After long rallies your legs get little tired, and of course, it is not easy to move to such deceptive shots. That is her trademark play. It is not like that I was giving up on the first shot.
It was after the first three, four shots I was falling off (in concentration). When you are in a match, you are just thinking of playing well and picking up the shots. Her strong point is she is able to do long rallies and suddenly she is able to play that shot (deceptive drop)."
In terms of takeways, Saina has a lot of ground to cover to be back in the top five in the world rankings. "There is nothing to worry about much. Three is nothing like I have to really improve majorly. But longer rallies she was better, so may be some more improvement in my stamina front, some more improvement with my movements where I can last longer with the difficult shots and pick it up at the last moment. If these three or four points if I cover it up, overall It should be much better."
At the end a contest that lasted just 38 minutes, Saina walked that lonely walk in the bowels of the Arena that every athlete fears. The walk of the defeated. The walk during which the mind tells you, it is okay, but in your heart you know that you are no more the best. Saina will no doubt come back to the All England Championships, but whether she will win it is anyone's guess.