Saina Nehwal yet again succumbed to nemesis and world No 1 Tai Tzu Ying and finished runner-up at the Denmark Open, in Odense, on Sunday.
In an exciting, but energy-sapping 52-minute final, the ace Indian shuttler was beaten 13-21, 21-13, 6-21 by the superior Chinese Taipei opponent, who in the process won the Denmark Open title after a gap of two years. She had last won it in 2016.
The victory also bettered Tzu Ying's head-to-head record against Saina to 13-5.
This was Saina's fifth straight defeat to Tzu Ying this year. She finished second best four times earlier this year -- at the Indonesia Masters, All England Championships, Badminton Asia Championships and Jakarta Asian Games.
The top seeded Taipei shuttler meant business from the start and dictated the pace in the first game to race to a 6-1 lead. Though Saina appeared indecisive, debatable line calls also cost her dearly.
Tzu Ying, on the other hand, was at her clinical best as she engaged Saina in long rallies to tire her out.
The Chinese Taipei shuttler never let the Indian take the lead even once in the opening game as she led 11-6 and maintained the upper hand to pocket the first game in 15 minutes.
However, the world No. 10 Indian, unseeded in the tournament, was in no mood to give up without a fight and came out all guns blazing in the second game. Her ploy to adopt an attacking approach worked wonders as she completely dominated play.
Inspiration and tips from her fiancee, Parupalli Kashyap, at the end of the first game also motivated her.
Riding on her booming cross-court smashes and indecision from Tzu Ying, Saina led 11-5 at the break before winning the game 21-13 to draw parity.
But the Indian failed to maintain the momentum in the decider, her legs unable to withstand the intensity of the proceedings.
Tzu Ying curtailed her mistakes and again engaged Saina in long rallies. Unforced errors returned to haunt the Indian as she was guilty of finding the net and hitting wide on numerous occasions.
And once Tzu Ying took a seven-point lead at 9-2, it was always going to be difficult for Saina to recover.
