Serving at 20-18, on match point, PV Sindhu looked quickly back at Pullela Gopichand, the Indian coach, who was sitting courtside. Amidst the loud din in the Arena, Gopichand literally had to scream to make himself heard. "Be ready. Be ready for each point, each stroke," Gopichand told Sindhu, urging the World No. 3 not to lose her nerve this time.
Sindhu did not disappoint. Given the opportunity to take advantage of an open court by her Japanese opponent Nozomi Okuhara, who held a 5-4 advantage over the Indian in career meetings, Sindhu executed the half push firmly to win the contest 22-20, 18-21, 18-21.
Gopichand and Sindhu clenched their fists in unison to celebrate her maiden entry into the semifinal of the All England Open, which has only been won by two Indians to date. Sindhu will face Okuhara's compatriot Akane Yamaguchi in the semis after she defeated 2015 champion Carolina Marin 21-15, 21-18 in the last eight.
Elation followed trepidation for both Sindhu and Gopichand. It was never going to be easy - both for the players and the fans watching. Historically, the contests between the two players can be called as 'badminthons': only because the average time for the previous four contests between Sindhu and Okuhara was 78 minutes. Today they tussled for another six extra minutes, making this the second-longest duel in their 10 meetings.
Okuhara had won five of their nine previous matches and has also won two of their last three matches, including the epic final at the World Championships, which was arguably the match of the year.
The familiarity meant that there could barely be any surprise element to gain any upperhand. Naturally then, it was a fight of attrition as the scoreline suggested. The longest lead in the match was a four-point advantage Okuhara gained it at the most crucial time in the match. Trying to attack Sindhu, Okuhara had taken a 16-12 lead in the final game, five points away from reaching the semi-finals after the first-round defeat against Saina Nehwal last year.
Okuhura had been recuperating from a knee injury for the past several months. She did not have much match time other than having played in the German Open last week. Going into the match, Sindhu was aware of Okuhara being a rally player. She knew every point would be a mini contest in itself. So patience and consistency would be the key. In the first game today, she survived a game point and then won it by the slimmest of margins, as her forehand stroke fell inside the tramlines to Sindhu's right by a feather's length.
About half an hour later, Sindhu had her second game point. This time she capitalised after Okuhara came up with a weak return while attempting an overheard crosscourt in the middle of another multi-stroke rally, of which there were several.
With Okuhara leaning on a four-point cushion in the final phase of the final game, Sindhu paced the court, sweat gleaming on her face. Gopichand had stopped clapping by now, even as the Indian fans had started to urge Sindhu to hang in there.
Okuhura conceded the next point by misjudging a shot that she felt was long. Sindhu then showed supreme athleticism to win the next two points and bring the lead down to a single point at 15-16. A weak return from Okuhara meant it was 16-all. Gopichand did a half-clap, withholding any further emotion.
Sindhu belatedly raised her hand to challenge a line call. The umpire told her firmly she had to do it instantly. The Indian fans booed him saying he was being "biased." The boos would grow louder when he flashed the yellow card against the Indian after Sindhu took time to serve.
Sindhu would not let the emotion get the better of her. A swift exchange of drop shots at the net went in her favour and put her on 19-18. Okuhara once again failed to respond to a shot from the deep right corner thinking it was long. Sindhu was on match point.
Gopichand reminded her of the importance of the moment. "You just have to play your game. He was just asking me to be ready for everything," Sindhu told ESPN. Sindhu would go on to hit an angled stroke, which Okuhara challenged. Sindhu was "70-80 %" confident about the stroke, but was prepared to play another point.
For Sindhu, the turning point was when she recovered from the four-point deficit toward the end. "I still had hope things can actually change. It is not just I gave up. I kept fighting till the last point and won it."
Sindhu agreed it was not a fluent match for her. "With her, there are long rallies always. There were no easy points. I was also hitting two or three points into the net or out, and I was also hitting her smashes out, where again I lost few points. Apart from that, it was all tight shots."
It was the second day in a row where Sindhu had come back from 12-16 down in the third game to draw level and win it 21-18. What came handy in such clutch moments was the advice of Gopichand. Even on Thursday, Sindhu had put herself in a spot after allowing Thailand's Nitchaon Jindapol to take the match into the third game after the Indian had won the first easily. After the match was level, Gopichand had told Sindhu to blank that loss and start afresh.
Today too, Gopichand told Sindhu the same during the breaks. "At times when you hit out, you actually have to get those points. You tend to get nervous or lose confidence. Along with the coach I have been working and getting better at letting that go and it is working well."