Jakarta: Indonesia’s World No. 3 Jonatan Christie was excited after edging past Shi Yuqi of China 21-13, 15-21, 21-19 on Saturday to advance to the 2023 Indonesia Masters final.
“Thanks to God that this is my first final playing at the Istora Senayan stadium, and this means a lot to me personally. I am happy to be able to beat Shi in front of the home fans,” said Christie.
After trailing 9-11 in the first game, Christie increased his tempo and managed to secure the opening game. However, he lost his momentum to surrender the second game to Shi. Christie was playing with strong determination and finally able to come back from 1-4, 11-13 down to win the decider.
“Shi is a very strong player, and I had to change my strategy and cut down my mistake to be able to win the third game,” added Christie.
“When I was leading at 20-17 in the decider, I decided to play more net shots but Shi Yu Qi was able to read my game. Fortunately, I was able to restore my attacks to wrap up the semi-final,” continued Christie.
Christie will play compatriot World No. 23 Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in the final. Wardoyo advanced to the final after winning a dramatic 83-minute match 17-21, 27-25, 22-20 over Angus Ng Ka Long from Hong Kong.
“Seeing Jonatan enter the final gave me strong motivation. But I will stay focused in the final when playing against Christie,” said Wardoyo after the semi-finals.
In addition to men’s singles, Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin also made the home crowd happy by advancing to the men’s doubles final. They will meet He Ji Ting/Zhou Hao Dong of China on Sunday.
Meanwhile, An Se Young and Carolina Marin are going to face off at each other in the women’s singles final, while Liu Sheng Shu/Zhang Shu Xian will meet Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota in the women’s doubles final.
The China team already guaranteed the mixed doubles crown when Huang Dong Ping/Feng Yan Zhe will compete with compatriots Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin in the final.
