Wang Shixian on Tuesday beat top-ranked Carolina Marin 19-21, 21-18, 21-19 as China dispatched Spain 5-0 in Uber Cup badminton.
Marin eliminated Wang at the World Championships last year, but Wang beat her a second straight time in the feature opening singles, as China earned their second win in Group A and a place in the quarter-finals.
Denmark also registered their second win and progressed after beating Malaysia 3-2 in the same group.
Anna Thea Madsen won the deciding match against Ho Yen-mei 22-24, 21-13, 21-13.
In Group C, Thailand won 3-2 against Indonesia, taking one of the doubles in 1 hour, 15 minutes after saving two match points. Hong Kong beat Bulgaria 3-2 in the same group.
The Group D ties went as expected, with sweeps for India and Japan against Germany and Australia respectively, setting up a group decider yesterday.
In the Thomas Cup, five-time champions Malaysia registered a 3-2 win over South Korea to top Group C with three wins.
Malaysia won the singles and South Korea the doubles, the tie going to the fifth match, where Chong Wei-feng’s experience prevailed against Jeon Hyeok-jin 21-16, 21-16.
South Korea still advanced to the quarter-finals with two wins. England finished the group campaign with a first win, defeating Germany 4-1.
Thirteen-time champions Indonesia downed Thailand 4-1 to advance.
Hong Kong registered their first victory, winning 3-2 and handing a depleted India a second successive loss.
In Group D, eight-time runners-up Denmark and Taiwan notched their second successive 5-0 victories to ensure last-eight berths. Denmark cruised against New Zealand without dropping a game, as did Taiwan against South Africa.
After letting another big lead slip with an error-strewn performance at the French Open on Wednesday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka felt like getting as far away from the courts as possible. “Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after wasting a lead of a set and two breaks in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss to Diana Shnaider in the women’s singles quarter-finals. “We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.” Sabalenka’s wait for a first French Open title continues despite the four-time major winner leading 4-1 in the second set and being two points from victory while
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