Paris –
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo failed to win French Open 2021. Against Ko Sung-hyun/Shin Baek-cheol (South Korea) in the final, The Minions lost 17-21, 20-22.
Playing at Stade Pierre de Coubertin, Sunday (31/10/2021) night WIB, the Ko/Shin duo were able to take a 4-2 lead first, then lead 6-4. But Marcus / Kevin managed to equalize the score to 6-6.
Ko/Shin raced 9-7, but The Minions chased to 9-10. One extra point from Ko/Shin closed the interval with a score of 11-9.
After the break, Ko / Shin tried to get away with a 13-10 lead. One smash from Kevin managed to reduce the distance to 11-13. Ko’s error in anticipating Kevin’s serve increased the Minions’ score to 12-13.
Ko/Shin then managed to get away again with a score of 17-14. One strike from Marcus in front of the net changed the score to 15-17, followed by a Smash from Kevin which made the score 16-17. But the pressure did not make Ko/Shin waver. They managed to maintain the lead, adding the four points needed to close the first set with a score of 21-17.
In the second set, Ko/Shin were able to quickly lead up to 6-2. The distance of four points can be maintained up to 8-4. Marcus/Kevin then narrowed the gap to 6-8, but Ko/Shin also managed to add two points to 10-6. The second set interval closed with the score 11-7, after Kevin’s shot hit the net.
After the break, Ko/Shin again increased their advantage to 14-10. Two smashes from Marcus gave The Minions two additional points to 12-14, but Shin managed to add one point through a hard smash that split the Marcus/Kevin defense.
In a position trailing 12-15, the Indonesian pair recovered by adding five consecutive points, reversing the situation to 17-15. But Kevin’s shot off the field changed the score to 17-16. Marcus’s shot was too long to make the score back at 17-17.
The tight situation lasted until 20-20. In a deuce situation, Ko/Shin managed to appear calmer, adding two consecutive points to 22-20. Thus, Ko/Shin became the men’s doubles champion of the French Open 2021.
(adp / then)
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