Nguyen Thuy Linh rushes to the semi-finals of the tournament in Thailand
While the seeds lost in turn to weaker opponents, Thuy Linh kept her form and defeated Prasista Bilqis to win all three matches in a row.
In fact, Thuy Linh did not start well against a 20-year-old opponent and is ranked 102nd in the world.
After a hit that didn't go through the net and two extra shots, Thuy Linh was 0-3 in the first game. However, the world No. 49 player managed to cut Bilqis's circuit with a loose hand stroke, sending the bridge away in a "falling yellow leaf" style, making the Indonesian opponent unable to move in time to neutralize. Thuy Linh then launched many dangerous hits to bring the bridge into the corner of the yard to remove 5-5 and then 8-8. When the score was 13-11, she had the longest winning streak in the game to lead 19-11 and win 21-13.
The second game was more dramatic. Thuy Linh has three shots out in a row for Bilqis to lead 5-3. Part of the reason is probably because the 25-year-old player stands on the court with high winds. However, the number one seed in women's singles adapts quickly, adjusting her attack power for powerful smashes or dropping into the high corner effectively and equalizing 8-8. Since then, the two sides have struggled, with up to five points.
Like the previous two matches, Thuy Linh always showed her bravery at the decisive moment. When the score was 16-15, she had the longest winning streak in the game (four points). After missing the first macht-point, the native Phu Tho player succeeded with two powerful smashes in a row and then dropped it into the high corner so that the opponent could not keep up.
The match lasted 27 minutes, the shortest in a women's singles match since the Thailand International Challenge started. In the semi-finals, Thuy Linh met a Thai tennis player born in 2007, ranked 79th in the world, Opatnipeth Pitchamon.
Thuy Linh was born on November 20, 1997, won a gold medal at the national youth badminton championship at the age of 17. In 2018, she usurped the number one position in Vietnam of senior Vu Thi Trang. In 2020, thanks to the 42nd position in the world, the native Phu Tho tennis player was represented in Vietnam at the 2021 Olympics - where she won two, lost one and finished second in the group stage.
