MALAYSIA OPEN 2010 QF – Tao/Zhang Juggernaut Continues

By Don Hearn, Badzine Correspondent, live in Kuala Lumpur.  Photos: BadmintonPhoto (live)

Last week, Zhang Yawen and Tao Jiaming came out of nowhere to beat the Olympic champions Lee Yong Dae / Lee Hyo Jung at home in Korea.  In fact, the new pair would not be satisfied until they had marched all the way into the Korea Open final.

“We definitely did not expect to beat Lee/Lee last week,” said Zhang Yawen.  “After all, they are the Olympic champions.”

This week, they are again showing that their appetite for mixed doubles success is far from satisfied.  After being lucky enough to record another win over the Korean stars, they made their own luck with another flawless performance, this time against Hendra Aprida Gunawan / Vita Marissa of Indonesia, taking a very quick 21-11, 21-14 victory.

Zhang Yawen feels that World Champions Laybourn/Rytter Juhl are the toughest opponents they expect to face in this tournament but adds that their next match, against Chen/Chou of Chinese Taipei, is also likely to be a difficult one.

“For sure, when you are no longer a new pair, other teams will be able to prepare to play you and they will figure out the tactics they can use to beat you,” Zhang said.

Tao’s entry on the scene as Zhang Yawen’s partner is actually not unlike the path taken by Zheng Bo just three winters ago.  At that time, Zheng took on the job of partnering doubles star Gao Ling in Zhang Jun’s stead and the new pair immediately rocketed to the Asian Games and All England titles.  Tao, himself, must fill the shoes of Xie Zhongbo, with whom Zhang won 8 major titles since their partnership began in late 2004.

Tao, however, denies that Xie/Zhang’s past success has made it hard for him to assume the mantle, saying that the coaches don’t put a lot of pressure on him because he is still new to the job.  Of course it is a lot easier to avoid criticism when you are winning, though, and Tao and Zhang have done an awful lot of that these past two weeks.

For complete quarter-final results from the 2010 Proton Malaysia Open Super Series, CLICK HERE