The CROWNE PLAZA Saipan International may be one of Yuto Nakashizu/Mao Yamakita’s first international tournaments together, but their chemistry on court told a much older story.
“We went to high school together, so rather than developing new partnerships it made sense to play together,” said Yamakita.
The Japanese pair faced compatriots Mutsuki Ampo/Aya Tamaki in their mixed doubles semifinal, and their opponents came out firing. “In the first game, [Ampo/Tamaki] were very strong, so we were just receiving, receiving, receiving,” said Nakashizu. “We had to change our strategy to move faster than them.”
The adjustment worked. Nakashizu/Yamakita fought back to win 13-21, 21-18, 21-18, booking their spot in tomorrow’s final against Cho Song Hyun/Jeong Ga Eun (KOR).
Nakashizu had time to recover before returning to the court for his men’s doubles semifinal alongside Yuta Takei. Up against YONEX Northern Marianas Open champions Tori Aizawa/Daisuke Sano (JPN), Nakashizu/Takei needed to make the most of every chance they had — and they very nearly did. But despite a string of service faults and unforced errors, Aizawa/Sano proved impossible to shake, digging deep when it mattered most to escape 21-17, 11-21, 22-20. They’ll meet number one seeds Wei Chun Wei/Po Chih Yang (TPE) in tomorrow’s final.
In the men’s singles, Garret Tan (USA) took the court for his first semifinal appearance in Saipan — a milestone four years in the making. “It feels so good,” he said. “I played pretty good today and after four years here it’s my first time even passing round of 16, so I’m just happy to be in the semis.”
Tan’s run met its match in Park Sang Yong (KOR), the reigning YONEX Northern Marianas Open champion. The American mounted a late surge in a tight three-game battle, but couldn’t complete the comeback. Park advances to his second final in as many weeks, where he’ll face Japan’s Shogo Ogawa.
The women’s singles final will be a rematch of last week’s YONEX Northern Marianas Open decider, with both Sakura Masuki (JPN) and Nodoka Sunakawa (JPN) cruising through their semifinals. And in the women’s doubles, Mikoto Aiso/Momoha Niimi will face fellow Japanese pair Mio Konegawa/An Uesugi in the final, after both sides held their nerve to book their spots.
