It was difficult for Malaysia’s Leong Jun Hao to battle against World No.13 at the 2025 Swiss Open. But the challenge became tougher due to his broken racquet string and erroneous service in the R16 clash.
The tide of the match moved into Kenta Nishimoto’s favour when Jun Hao’s service went into the net while leading 19-18 in the decider.
He went on to lose 17-21, 22-20, 20-22 in a nearly 100-minute slugfest.
Malaysian singles coach Kenneth Jonassen said the service error and broken string took place at the worst times. He, however, has placed his bet on Jun Hao to return stronger in the European tournaments.
“The game was close and there was nothing to separate the two players. In the end, it came down to a service mistake (19-18) and a broken string at the very worst of times,” said Jonaseen.
“It was indeed a hard-fought battle in very slow conditions here in Basel.
“However, Jun Hao showed great fighting ability, was good at dealing with slow shuttles which in no way suited his playing style.
“Tough for him not to get the win but he set a good standard both for himself and other teammates of how hard you have to work for each point at this level and when facing a top player.”
Jun Hao was able to rectify his slow start in the match. He was able to improve that in his performance compared to his first-round defeat (21-11, 21-19) against world No. 4 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia at the All England in Birmingham last week.
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