Several times trailing in his matches in the round of 16 and in the quarter-finals, Rémi Rossi has, each time, found the resources to turn his opponents around. (Photo: Paul Foxall/Badminton Oceania)
The last survivor of the Tahitian clan at Oceania badminton, Rémi Rossi was still in the race on Tuesday for a potential victory. The Polynesian badiste indeed extricated himself between Monday and Tuesday from the eighth and quarter-finals. First on the night of Monday to Tuesday, for his round of 16, Rémi Rossi was opposed to the seeded number 6 of the tournament, the Australian Ricky Cheng. Trailing at the start of the game, he was up to five points behind his opponent (13-8), Rossi then recovered, gradually nibbling his delay with a well-felt smash and also taking advantage of the Australian fouls. The Polynesian player finally won the first round with a score of 21-18.
On the heels of his first set, Rémi Rossi was going to be more conquering in the second act and this time was going to take the lead by having up to four points in advance (14-10). The Tahitian then experienced a new drop in speed and was joined at 18-18. A small blow less well without consequence since he won the set 21-19, pocketing his ticket for the roller coaster of the competition in the process.
Rossi drops his first set but wins
In Tuesday’s quarter-final, Rossi was up against another Australian, Ricky Tang. Like the Tahitian, Tang had knocked down a big seed in the previous round, his compatriot Adam Dolman. As in his round of 16, Rémi Rossi struggled to get into his game. Trailing in the first set where he was up to five points behind, the Polynesian was forced to concede his first set of the competition (21-14).
A good electroshock for Rossi who would immediately recover in the second run. This time he dictated the game and raced in the lead to pick up a set everywhere (21-16). A return to form which was not confirmed in the third act where the Tahitian was again going to suffer and be six points behind in the middle of the set (10-4). But once again the fenua player was going to find the necessary resources to completely turn the game around. He would first pick up at 14-14 before winning 7 of the last 11 points to finally win 21-18 in the final set.
Direction therefore the last square where he found the Kiwi, Edward Lau, seeded number 2.The match must be played on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday before perhaps a possible final.
