Defending champion and world No. 1 Kento Momota yesterday battled past former No. 1 Viktor Axelsen to reach the China Open semi-finals.
Japan’s Momota, who is chasing his 10th title of the season, suffered a second-game wobble before beating Axelsen of Denmark 21-18, 12-21, 21-16 in their quarter-final.
The 25-year-old Momota next faces Axelsen’s compatriot, Rasmus Gemke, or Angus Ng Ka-long of Hong Kong in today’s last four.
Photo: AFP
The victory for Momota, the reigning two-time world champion, was his 13th in 15 matches against Axelsen, now ranked sixth in the world.
In the women’s semi-finals, world No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan faces world No. 2 Nozomi Okuhara of Japan.
Tai was forced to fight for her spot in the last four, defeating unseeded Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-15, 11-21, 21-13.
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