Carolina Marin thrashes PV Sindhu in 35 minutes in Swiss Open final

PV Sindhu suffered a humiliating defeat to Carolina Marin in the final of Swiss Open 2021 on Thursday in Basel.

In what was a re-match of the Rio Olympics final 2016, World No. 3 Marin thrashed Sindhu 21-12, 21-5 at the St. Jakobshalle Arena. With the victory in the final, which lasted for just 35 minutes, Marin has extended her head-to-head lead over Sindhu to 9-5.

Having won the two Thailand Opens at the beginning of 2021 and reaching the final of the World Tour Finals, Marin's run this year has continued to be at the top.

The last time Sindhu had made it to a final was back in 2019 and the fact that the game was held in the same Basel's venue would have uplifted her morale. In addition to that, Sindhu reached the Swiss Open 2021 final by defeating the likes of Busanan Ongbamrunphan and Mia Blichfeldt. However, on Sunday, she ran into Marin who did not put a foot wrong.

Marin kickstarted the first game in her typical style of aggression, but Sindhu managed to match her intensity. Sindhu won three straight points to make it 6-4 but that was followed by Marin winning five points on the trot. She broke Sindhu at 11-8 and from there on, Sindhu could not catch her opponent as Marin went on to seal the first game 21-12.

Marin just picked up from where she had left off in the first game as Sindhu managed to finally win a point that was the sixth of the game. Marin then zoomed away to 11-2 with yet another break. The Indian ace player went on to win just three more points in the game as Marin sealed the game 21-5.

Sindhu's title drought continues as the World Championship win in 2019 remains her last title. The former World No. 2 Sindhu does not have a lot of time to analyse her shortcomings as the next big tournament, the All England Championships, is set to start on March 17 in Birmingham. However, she will be determined to prove her doubters wrong with a fine performance in the tournament, which she is yet to win.