Isabel Herttrich and Olga Konon from Germany are playing the qualification to Japan Open this Tuesday.
The Germans qualified for the main tournament at Korea Open last week, but was defeated in three sets.
- It seemed so close and was still so far away, Olga Konon tells Badminton Europe about their match in Round 1.
- Last week was an OK match but we want to be more patient this week, Isabell Herttrich explains.
Prepared for tomorrow
Straight from the Superseries in Seoul, the German pair are now in Tokyo for the Premier. The first match will be against Japanese opponents that Herttrich has played before:
- I played Kugo/Yokoyama in April this year so we know what we will face tomorrow and we are prepared for it and we'll give all we have.
- Of course, we are prepared for that it's going to be a tough match against the Japanese, especially here on their home soil, but we are fully ready to give it all on court, Konon states.
A new team
Konon just switched from singles to the doubles categories, so she hopes to gain more experience and confidence for other tournaments in Asia.
- My personal goal for this tournament is to play as many matches as possible and to get more experience in mixed and doubles disciplines. There are a lot of things for me to learn and improve in doubles.
- It’s only our fourth tournament together as a pair so we are happy that it works out quite good so far, Herttrich says.
They are also entering the Japan Open in mixed doubles, where Konon teams up with Peter Kaesbauer and Herttrich with Mark Lamsfuss.