Malaysia Masters pain fuels Sze Fei-Izzuddin’s Singapore Open mission

KUALA LUMPUR: Winning titles and producing consistent performances matter more to men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani than climbing the world rankings.

Sze Fei-Izzuddin reached the summit of the rankings when they became world No. 1 on May 27 last year, but the independent pair have since slipped to ninth.

After missing out on the Malaysia Masters title at the Unifi Arena on Sunday following a defeat to Denmark’s world No. 18 Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard, Izzuddin said their priority remained winning titles.

“We are more focused on our performances and winning titles. If we do that, our ranking will improve automatically,” said Izzuddin.

Sze Fei-Izzuddin currently have nine World Tour titles to their name.

Although they are the only Malaysian men’s doubles pair to win a title this year, winning at the Super 500 Indonesia Masters in January, the duo also suffered first or second-round exits in four of their eight tournaments.

That inconsistency makes it even more important for Sze Fei-Izzuddin to capitalise on their recent momentum after reaching the semi-finals of the Thailand Open and the final of the Malaysia Masters.

A sterner test awaits at the Super 750 Singapore Open, where they will face former world No. 1 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the first round on Wednesday.

The experienced Danish duo, now ranked world No. 10, hold a commanding 9-2 head-to-head advantage and have won the last three meetings against the Malaysians.

If Sze Fei-Izzuddin can get past the Danes, they are likely to face world No. 16 Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King in the second round before a possible blockbuster quarter-final clash against Indonesia’s world No. 3 Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri or Malaysia Masters champions Lundgaard-Vestergaard.

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

المصدر: New Straits Times