Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Taiwan's top ranked female badminton player Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) won her fourth singles title at the Taipei Open, by beating World No. 35 Saena Kawakami of Japan 21-17, 21-16 on Sunday.
The final lasted 37 minutes -- World No. 2 Tai's longest match during the tournament held at Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium.
Despite Tai taking an early lead in both games, Kawakami managed to even the score twice during the first game and was just one point behind Tai during the second.
Japanese players always play steadily and move fast, Tai said after the match, and she reminded herself to keep unforced errors to a minimum during the final.
Tai became the third female player to win four women's singles titles at the Taipei Open, after winning her home tournament in 2012, 2016, and 2018.
"It's been 10 years. It means I've been playing for quite a while, but I will still try (to win more titles)," she said.
It was also Tai's third title this season, following back-to-back wins at the Thailand Open in May and the Indonesia Open in June.
Tai, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, said she next plays at the Japan Open, a world championships event being held from Aug. 30-Sept. 4.
When asked if she will defend her title at the Taipei Open next year, Tai said "let me finish the tournaments this year, and we will see next year."
The 2022 Taipei Open is a Super 300 event that carries a total purse of US$500,000 (NT$14.95 million). It was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The other female players who have won the Taipei Open four times during the tournament's 39 editions are Kirsten Larsen of Denmark and Sung Ji-hyun from South Korea.
