26-year-old Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal was spot on to get the better of Carolina Marin in the 2014 Australian Super Series.
The then 24-year-old was coming on the back of a win in the India Open Grand Prix Gold and continued her fine run of form in the Australian series winning a well-deserved $750,000 guerdon.
The first game was bit of a roller coaster ride for both the contenders as they were looking to cancel each other out in every move. However, the young Spaniard’s little mistakes cost her big time. Saina managed an early lead of 5-2, but the then 21-year-old Carolina was unerring to mark a comeback and she somehow narrowed down Saina’s lead to 6-8.
Going into the interval, Carolina’s blunders gave the Indian ace an established 11-7 lead. The lack of consistency was spot on yet again as the game progressed and the Spaniard found the deficit climbing up and eventually, she lost the first game with 21-18.
Marin was determined to make a comeback and her early lead of 3-1 in the second game was looking like the perfect picture of it. However, the tables turned in no time as some mind games after, the Indian found herself leading the chart with 11-4. Saina continued the pressure and established a comfortable 19-9 lead and soon after, the score was ceased at 21-11.
