“Our condition is not very well. Yesterday we had fever but today we feel better. We are very happy to win today and through to the final,” said Ayaka Takahashi after the match.

In the match that lasted 72 Minutes, Misaki/Ayaka admits that the pair receives a lot of pressure in the first set. “In the first set we were made busy by them. The opponent played very quickly. Maybe because today is a semifinal match that’s why we were a bit under pressure. But in the second set we increased our tempo and play more quickly, and it ended well,” she said.

Furthermore, Ayaka claims that it is important for her to win in every match in this tournament. This is because the World’s No. 4 Women’s Doubles pair is still struggling to get the ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, as the competition among the Japanese Women’s Doubles pairs is getting tougher.

“Certainly the win in this tournament will be very important to us, as we are still collecting points for the 2020 Olympics. Moreover, the competition among the Japanese Women’s Doubles Pairs is very tough, hence we are obliged to always perform well. Although playing under the fever, we shall not make that as an excuse,” she said.

Although it is remains unconfirmed about who will Misaki/Ayaka play in the final match of Blibli Indonesia Open 2019 BWF World Tour Super 1000 tomorrow, the pair claims that they will always be ready and anticipate performance from both the Chinese pair, Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan and their own compatriot, Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota.

“For tomorrow’s match, definitely we will take a rest first. And we will keep on learning about the potential opponents’ performance,” said Ayaka.