Lee Zii Jia will not have to face the physical exertions of playing in the qualifying rounds in his next three upcoming tournaments after he crashed out at the Australian Open.
The world number 64 crashed out in the opening round of the Super 500 event on Wednesday having playing two tough qualifying round matches the day before.
Barely 24 hours later, he had to face Chinese Taipei’s Lee Chia-Hao and lost 13-21, 22-24 against a shuttler who has been in poor form himself.
Playing in two qualifying matches has affected Zii Jia’s form when he reaches the main draw.
The Australian Open is the third tournament where the 28-year-old has crashed out in the opening round having come through two qualifiers.
He also fell in the Swiss Open and Thailand Open first round having played two matches 24 hours prior.
So the upcoming Macao Open (June 16-21) will come as a relief for Zii Jia as he competes in the main draw.
The Kedah-born, however, faces a tricky opponent in the form of Zaki Ubaidullah.
The powerful young Indonesian already has one title to his name this year after winning the Thailand Masters and is expected to give Zii Jia a torrid time on court.
After Macao, Zii Jia will head to the U.S. Open and Canada Open.