Japan Open: Tang and Tse bow out of quarter-finals, ending Hong Kong’s hopes in Osaka
- The Hong Kong pair were no match for world No 3 duo of Watanabe and Higashino, who dominated their way to a straight sets win
- Next tournament will not take place until mid-October in Europe
Hong Kong ended its last hope at the Japan Open after mixed doubles pair Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet bowed out of the quarter-finals of the US$750,000 tournament in Osaka on Friday.
Against third seeds Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of host nation Japan, the Hong Kong pair could do little as Watanabe and Higashino dominated their way to a straight sets win 21-15, 21-14 in just 41 minutes.
The Japanese combination now extends their head-to-head record to 9-1 over Tang and Tse, including the bronze medal playoff at last summer’s Tokyo Olympics and the year-end World Tour semi-finals.
It was a close encounter in the first game until the final stages when the Japanese pair took five points in a row from a 16-15 lead to make it 1-0. The Hong Kong pair struggled in the second game especially when 30-year-old Tse felt the tiring legs and could hardly recover.
“Skills wise we are not behind the Japanese pair too much, but in terms of stamina we couldn’t match,” head coach Tim He Yiming said.
“The Japanese players are famous for their work ethic and their mixed doubles combination duly proved it in the match today as they were in total control in the second game when our pair lacked the physical fitness and speed to last through.
