Mixed Doubles

Adrian Liu/Elisha Liu v Alvin Lau/Charmagne Yeung 

The two Lius got going immediately and rushed off to a 5-0 lead. The Lau/Yeung combination appeared nervous and committed a slew of unforced errors. Before you knew it, Liu/Liu were up 11-1 at the interval. Elisha Liu was quick and decisive at the net, converting easy points. The Lius continued their attack on Yeung in particular and soon wrapped up the 1st game 21-11. 

Mistakes were the norm at the onset of the 2nd game, keeping the score close. When Lau hit out of the baseline, Liu/Liu took a slim 11-10 lead. After the break, Lau/Yeung started to find their game and played with more aggression. They eventually closed out the 2nd game 21-16 to level at one game apiece. 

Lau/Yeung started the better in the 3rd game forcing errors from their opponents. Coupled by some big smashes from Lau, they took a 5-2 lead. After clawing their way back to 8-8, Liu/Liu gave away the next 3 points through errors. That seemed to be a huge momentum swinger as the mistakes piled up and the match raced out of hand. A clinical net kill at 20-11 by Yeung sealed the deal, giving Lau/Yeung the match 11-21, 21-16, 21-11. 

Postgame with Alvin Lau/Charmagne Yeung

A smiling Yeung admitted she was a bundle of nerves at the beginning. With the 1st game out of hand Lau/Yeung decided to throw away the  game to concentrate on the 2nd. Lau said they wanted to wear down their opponents while allowing themselves time to find their own rhythm. Patience was the key. 
 

Men's Singles

Kyle Foley v Kiran Bogevelli 

An explosive match was in store after contrasting semi-finals. Foley won controversially over Chris Lee while Bogavelli was pumped about his victory over Richard Liang. It was a final that did not disappoint and had the crowd on the edge of their seats. 

Bogavelli controlled the early play and led 6-2. Both played carefully with attacking clears and tight net exchanges. It was indeed a deceptive net shot that caught out Foley to allow Bogavelli to take the towel break at 11-5. Foley was tightening his net play, if that was at all possible but Bogavelli had an answer every time Foley crept close. A series of misses by Bogavelli allowed Foley to level at 17-17. Bogavelli yelled in frustration! That appeared to refocus him and when Foley netted, Bogavelli took an entertaining 1st game 21-18. 

Long rallies followed by hard hitting exchanges forced Bogavelli into mistakes as Foley was up quickly 9-2. A lovely cross court smash by Foley put him up 11-6. At 13-9, after having his drive called out, Foley shot a prolonged glare at the line judge. Bogavelli inched his way back to 14-16 when a long, exhaustive rally ensued and had the watchful crowd oohing and aahing. Foley had 3 opportunities to kill but some incredible retrieving kept the rally going... only for Bogavelli to put an innocuous return into the net. More aggressive play by Foley eventually netted him the 2nd game 21-16. 

At the break, Bogavelli was seen stretching his calves, perhaps a sign of the physical toll the match was taking on him. And when Foley bolted to a 5-1 lead in the decider, we may not have been wrong to think so. A couple of unforced errors allowed Bogavelli to close to 5-4 before it was his turn to complain about the line judge. Foley continued to push the pace with some precise placements mixed with lovely disguise. He looked comfortable at 16-10. Bogavelli, well known for his iron will and mental strength then began to erode away at Foley's sizable lead, forcing him into poor returns. Soon Foley's lead had been cut to 17-15 and then even closer at 20-19. The winning shot was itself something utterly unretrievable. Foley's attempted net drop sat on the net for what seemed an eternity and as the crowd held its breath, the shuttle dribbled over to Bogavelli's side. So overjoyed was Foley that he ripped off his shirt and threw it high in the air. The spectators applauded generously for the skill and effort displayed by both players. Never mind that Foley's shirt never came down as it got hung up in the rafters. Foley over Bogavelli 18-21, 21-16, 21-19. 

Postgame with Kyle Foley

Foley said he had expected a tough match as he knew Bogavelli could vary the pace and change strategies in mid game. A good example was towards the end of the 3rd game when Bogavelli forced him into errors and almost caught up. He had emphasized practicing on finishing games but at the same time be very careful with shot selection. On the winning shot, Foley's intent was to play a tight net drop and admitted it was completely lucky that the shuttle sat on the net and tipped over. As for the celebration, Foley was trying to do a "Lin Dan" (cover his head with his shirt) but his shirt was so sweat drenched he took it off completely instead. 
 

Ladies Singles

Phyllis Chan v Sarah Kong 

After the initial feeling out period, Chan began to push the pace and raced out to a 6-1 lead. She widened it to 11-3, with the game seemingly in control. Kong finally found her game with some nice net play and attacking Chan's front court forehand side. With errors creeping into Chan's game, Kong managed to close to 15-16. A crisp half smash and net shot pulled her ahead 19-18 and she finished the game with a delicate cross court drop. After a slow start, Kong prevailed 21-19. 

The second game started as a close contest but once again, Chan's touch started to desert her. At 6-6, she played a series of attempted overhead drops into the net. Kong took advantage to lead 11-9. Kong was now retrieving everything Chan could throw at her, with rallies usually ending in a Chan mistake. With Kong dictating the pace, she extended her lead to 19-13. A precise clear to Chan's backhand corner finally ended the game and the match 21-19, 21-16. 

Postgame with Sarah Kong

A beaming Kong said she had lost to Chan in their previous meeting and wanted a no mistakes approach in this contest. She admitted to nerves for her slow start but gained in confidence as the match wore on. She kept telling herself she could do it and to force mistakes out of her opponent. Kong only went for her shots if they were there. She was happy to avenge her defeat and gained a huge boost of confidence from the win. 
 

Men's Doubles

Alvin Lau/Richard Liang v Adrian Liu/Derrick Ng 

Another highly anticipated match was in store between the top two seeds. Honours were pretty even in a fast paced 1st game. Lau/Liang's defence were rock solid and enabled them to pull ahead 10-6. A deft touch at the net by Lau extended the lead to 16-11 and a clear by Liu/Ng past the baseline wrapped up the 1st game 21-15 for Lau/Liang. 

The 2nd game started out quite even once again. Liu/Ng were moving much better and introduced more variety into their game. The score was never more than 2 points apart, and when Lau pushed a return out of the sideline, Liu/Ng were ahead 11-9. They continued their dominance after the interval and led by as much as 19-10.Then some uncharacteristic mistakes crept in as they had trouble closing out the game. Sensing this, Lau/Liang upped the pace, resulting in a series of easy kills. In a blink of the eye, it was 19-19 before Liu/Ng finally won the next point. They gave it back cheaply with a serve into the net and we were at deuce. To their credit, Liu/Ng held their nerves to edge the thriller 23-21. 

With both sides taking turns to dominate, the score remained close in the rubber. Lau/Liang arrived at the changeover up 11-9 after Liang's cross court push caught out Liu/Ng. And with the change of sides came the change of tide. Liang's clears were beginning to lose precision and length, allowing Liu/Liang to take offensive control. They were also anticipating better at the net and soon led 14-11. Mistakes on the Lau/Liang side began to accumulate as Liu/Ng rode their momentum. A smash down the line finally clinched it for Liu/Ng 15-21, 23-21, 21-14. 
 

Postgame with Adrian Liu/Derrick Ng

Liu and Ng said their strategy was to keep errors down to a minimum but were thrown off by the speed of Lau/Liang at the start. They needed to take control of the net in the 2nd game to stay in it. At 19-10, they said they lost focus and played too slowly. They were also too anxious to finish off the game, resulting in poor shot selection and allowing Lau/Liang back into the game. In the 3rd game, the change of sides made a huge visual difference. They started to put more pressure on Liang hoping for replies that they could attack as Lau was still moving the shuttle around quite well.  
 

Ladies Doubles

Phoebe Chan/Phyllis Chan v Melody Liang/Stephanie Ko 

Chan/Chan countered the harder hitting Liang/Ko with solid rotation and movement. However the attacks allowed Liang/Ko to lead 11-6 at the break. Stronger net play and anticipation brought Chan/Chan back into contention. Coupled with a few untimely errors by their opponents, they managed to whittle Liang/Ko's lead down to 18-16. A flick serve and two net tapes later, the score had drawn even to 20-20. Liang/Ko recovered though and a smash ended the 1st game 22-20. 

The 2nd game was much more one sided. More net tapes, this time in favour of Liang/Ko and continued smashes and excellent anticipation at the net soon had them way ahead 14-4. Before long, it was over. A dominating performance in the 2nd game by Liang/Ko had them run out as 22-20, 21-8 winners. 

Postgame with Melody Liang/Stephanie Ko

On the Chans' comeback in the 1st game, Liang/Ko said they got tired and started making mistakes. At the interval they wanted to cut down the errors, attack the weaker link, and continue to be aggressive. As for the abnormal amount of shots hitting the net tape, they said that was part of the game and not something you could do very much about.