Wang in song

Germany’s Han Ying was unable to stop the running train that was China’s Wang Manyu who needed no FAST5 games to move on to the semifinals here in Johor Bahru.

After having a powerful display for her rallies in the last round, Han deployed the same tactic against Wang. But the first seed was having none of it, biding her time in every rally for the perfect forehand winner. (11-5, 11-6, 11-6, 11-10)

Xu in cruise control

Xu Xin was in total control as he saw off Sweden’s in-form Mattias Falck 4:1 (11-6, 11-6, 10-11, 11-3, 5-1).

There was a look of disbelief on Xu’s face when Mattias took 6 consecutive points to claim the third game of the match. Perhaps that was the push he needed, because Xu-perman was at his best after that-claiming a spot in the semifinals with little sweat and just the one FAST5 game.

Kato causes a major upset

There are few better ways to start your weekend than upsetting the World #1. Japan’s Miyu Kato resonated with that feeling as she played out of her skin to defeat China’s Chen Meng 4:2 (11-4, 11-9, 4-11, 11-6, 2-5, 5-4)

It was a case of just how many times Miyu could keep Chen on her backhand which allowed the Japanese to take advantage. Taking two games straight early on, Miyu knew she was in for a battle. Roaring back into the match, Chen increased the pace of her forehands but could not handle the incredible service of her opponent. Eventually, Miyu used the second FAST5 game to wrap up an impressive victory.

Match Day 3 underway

Are you ready for another day of drama in Johor Bahru? – Here’s the fixture schedule for Match Day 3 and make sure to watch along live: