Ratchanok handed tough task
Ratchanok Intanon is hoping to win her first top-tier title of the year at this week’s Australian Open.
The 22-year-old Thai should have few problems in her first-round match against qualifier Louisa Ma of Australia in the Superseries event in Sydney today.
However, the 2013 world champion is likely to face a tough assignment against top-ranked Tai Tzu-ying in the second round of the US$750,000 tournament.
The Taiwanese, who beat Ratchanok in the All England final in March, was originally drawn to meet Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong in the first round of the women’s singles.
But Pornpawee withdrew from the tournament as did Busanan Ongbamrungphan and Nitchaon Jindapol who defeated Tai in the quarter-finals of last week’s Indonesia Open.
The Thais claimed they needed a rest after playing in several tournaments in a row.
In their absence, Ratchanok is the only Thai in the women’s singles of the Sydney tournament.
Last month, Ratchanok won the Thailand Open, a second-tier Grand Prix Gold event.
She lost to Saina Nehwal of India 21-17, 18-21, 12-21 in the first round in Jakarta last week.
Also today, Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk, the only Thai in the men’s singles, opens his campaign against eighth seed Tian Houwei of China.
Tanongsak has not yet been able to live up to expectations after winning his first Superseries title in Denmark last year.
Tanongsak reached the All England quarter-finals after upsetting China’s Olympic champion Chen Long but has since suffered a string of early exits.
In the mixed doubles first round in Sydney, eighth seeds Dechapol Puavanukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai meet Taiwan’s Wang Chi-lin and Lee Chia-hsin.