National men’s doubles pair Yap Roy King-Junaidi Arif turned in a fired-up performance to reach Spain Masters final after they outclassed French brothers Toma Junior Popov-Christo Popov 21-17, 21-17 early Sunday.
It was a brilliant team-effort from the world number 65 Malaysian pair, who are seeking their third title together since being paired last year.
Yap-Junaidi will go on to face Indonesia's Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza Pahlevi in Sunday's showcase final, and if they perform like they did against the French pair, there is every reason they will step to the podium top.
Yap-Junaidi performed like a seasoned pair against the Popov brothers and secured victory in just 32-minutes.
Yap marshalled the back court expertly and was clinical in his drop shots and smashes, with Junaidi mopping up at the front to finish off any loose shuttles that came his way.
Both men were comfortable in switching positions too, with Junaidi also netting the winners from the back court and Yap in the front when needed.
As a result, they raced to a 20-13 lead in the first game before the Popov brothers saved four match points to make it interesting.
The Malaysians eventually took the lead and found the composure to surge ahead and win the second game after both pairs were locked at 16-16.
It also helped Yap-Junaidi’s cause that Toma Junior played in a 73-minute men’s singles semi-finals clash hours earlier against Chou Tien-chen, before stepping to court again for his second match of the day.
If Yap-Junaidi win Sunday’s final, they will earn Malaysia its second consecutive silverware on the World Tour after Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai won last week’s Swiss Open mixed doubles title.
Nicolas Anil
Sun Mar 31 2024
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