PV Sindhu Reaches French Open Final, Sets Up Title Clash With An Se Young

Two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu advanced to her second Super 750 final of the year with a thrilling win over Japan's Hina Akechi at the French Open here on Saturday.

The 31-year-old Indian, who won the Japan Open Super 750 in July, displayed immaculate temperament to register a 21-10, 20-22, 21-16 win over world No. 22 Akechi in an hour and 13 minutes.

"I am a little bit happy that I could pull off the match and play the finals, but I think the job is not done yet and I think I need to go back and focus for one more match," Sindhu said.

The 21-year-old Japanese, who beat Wang Zhi Yi and Putri Kusuma Wardani earlier in the week, used deceptive strokes and quality defence to trouble Sindhu, but the Indian held her nerve to emerge victorious.

Sindhu will face Korea's world No. 1 An Se Young in the summit clash.

"I have to give her a good fight, a tough fight. Every point matters. We've played a lot of times and she's been doing really well," she said.

"She's been at her top form, but I think tomorrow is a different day. I just have to just go out there and give my best.

The opening game was closely contested initially, with the players locked at 4-4 and 8-8 before Sindhu took an 11-9 lead into the interval.

She then took charge, winning 11 of the last 12 points to seal the game 21-10 in 18 minutes.

Sindhu, a former world champion, fell four points behind in the second game but raised her pace to draw level at 7-7. Her round-the-head cross-court attack produced winners as the players stayed neck and neck until 10-10, before Akechi edged ahead.

The world No. 11 Indian stayed close at 14-14 and later caught up at 16-16 with a cross-court smash before moving ahead with a deceptive return. The Japanese kept pace and earned a game point. Sindhu saved it at 20-20 after a net exchange, but Akechi secured another opportunity and converted it when the Indian hit wide.

Sindhu led 5-3 start in the decider, but Akechi fought back to lead 6-5. The Indian regained the advantage and held a two-point cushion at the interval, despite struggling for consistency with her attack.

A cross-court return and a fine net shot extended Sindhu's lead, but Akechi clawed her way back with precise net play and a smash to level the score at 15-15.

An energy-sapping 38-shot rally ended with a net error from Akechi, giving Sindhu an 18-16 lead. A fine net shot moved her closer to victory before the Indian earned four match points when the Japanese hit wide. Sindhu sealed the contest with a cross-court smash.

Sindhu has been impressive this year as besides her Japan Open title, she also had come close to winning medals at the New Delhi World Championships and Asian Games.

Sindhu said putting together a new support team and adopting a smarter approach to training had helped her overcome a difficult run marked by injuries and inconsistent results.

"There have been a lot of ups and downs and it's been a rough run for almost one and a half years back then and it was very important for me to understand, go back and start from the scratch ... we put a team together and understand what's going on physically, mentally, where are we at," she said.

"Working with Irwansyah (Adi Pratama), it's almost going to be two years now, but we got a new team in terms of sports science and physio and trainer. Mr. Wayne Lombard is taking care of my sports science and everything and physio, Hira is taking care and of course Irwansyah and Shreyasi.

"So it was very important for us to form a team and understand the body condition and accordingly work smartly. That really worked out, like, in spite of doing a donkey work, we go in a very smart way, I would say."