On the first game, the Rio 2016 Olympics gold medalists started the game aggressively and continue to outperform their opponent throughout the set. Tontowi/Lilyana outplayed them by 11-4, 15-4 until the pair end the game with a 21-11 win.
“The first game was pretty good for us. We adjusted ourselves with any patterns that are comfortable for us,” said Liliyana after the match.
Furthermore, on the second set, Tontowi/Lilyana seemed to have their confidence boosted. Consequently, the pair, who came to the tournament as the No. 1 seed, grasps the win after ending the second set on a 21-14 win within the course of 30 minutes.
“On the second game, our opponent seemed to have to surrender the fight thus making it easier for us,” Liliyana added.
“We have been fully ready since the beginning, our strategy worked well. To be honest, there are several missed shots, but we will have to fix the problems on the second round,” said Liliyana.
On the second round of Blibli Indonesia Open 2018 which will be held on Thursday (5/7), Tontowi/Liliyana will see the Japanese pair, Yugo Kobayashi/ Misaki Matsutomo. Yugo/Misaki secured their ticket to the second round before Tontow/liliyana after beating other Indonesian pair, Yantoni Edy Saputra/ Marsheilla Gischa Islami through a three-set match with the score of 21-18, 17-21, and 21-8.
“The Japanese are known for their sturdiness and their strong defensive play. On the contrary, heavily relying on defensive play is not enough, attacking play is much better. Furthermore, even though we are the favorites, we must remain focused. The match will be easy for us should we can control the game from the beginning,” claimed Liliyana.
Furthermore, other than Tontowi/Liliyana, two other Indonesian mixed doubles pairs have also secured the ticket to the second round, namely Ricky Karanda Suwardi/Debby Susanto and Hafiz Faizal/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja. Ricky/Debby made it to the second round after defeating the Chinese pair He Jiting/Du Yue with the score of 17-21, 21-13, and 24-22. Meanwhile, Hafiz/Gloria are through to the second round after beating the French pair, Ronan Labar/Audrey Fontaine with the score of 20-22, 2111, dan 21-15.
Indonesia has the chance to send two additional pairs to the second round, where these pairs are scheduled to play on Wednesday (5/7). Riky Widianto/Masita Mahmudin will face the Taiwanese pair, Wang Chi Lin/Lee Chia Hsin while Ronald Alexander/Annisa Saufika will see the Danish pair, Joachim Fischer Nielsen/ Alexandra Boje on the first round.
