SINGAPORE: Malaysia's world No 1 Lee Chong Wei stormed into the Singapore Open men's final while the Olympic women's singles gold medalist Li Xuerui from China will clash with her compatriot Wang Yihan in the final.
Lee Chong Wei last won the Singapore Open in 2008. He was able to withstand unseeded Indian K. Srikanth's high attacking power before pulling clear to go into a final. At the end of first set, Lee was still thrilling behind 19-16 in the first game as Srikanth, the 21 year old, started a stream of relentless smashes. However, Lee started to regain his composure and demonstrated his good defense skill which allowed him to collect five unanswered points to take the opener in front of an appreciative crowd; he relished an up-tempo game and aggressively sealed the second game and the match 21-19, 21-18.
Lee Chong Wei will now look for his back to back Super Series title (he won the India Open Super Series title last week), hoping to add one more title to his record tally of 33 Superseries titles in the final against Santoso, who upset the fifth-seeded Du 16-21, 21-17, 21-17.
The reigning All-England champion told reporters that he is aware of Simon's attacking game, and he will be prepared.
"Simon is a furious attacker on court; I'll need to be very careful in the final. I won the Indian Open last week, I hope I can win two championships in two weeks," said Chong Wei.
In women's singles, Li Xuerui will play against defending champion Wang Yihan after she sent South Korea's fifth seed Sung Ji-Hyun packing 21-13, 21-13.
Wang Yihan lost to Li Xuerui in Olympic final 2012, but Wang revenged with her victory over Li in last year's Singapore final.
Wang had some trouble fending off Han Li from China in the first set, but she quickly took the second set easily to reach the final 21-18, 21-12.
Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir stayed on target to defend their title by beating unseeded Chinese duo Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin 17-21, 21-11, 21-19 in the mixed doubles semi-finals.
Another Indonesia's mixed doubles pair – Riky Widianto and Puspita Richi Dili came from behind to overcome South Korea's Ko Sung-Hyun and Kim Ha-Na 20-22, 21-17, 21-16. They will set up an all-Indonesian final with Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir.
Men's singles semi-finals:
Simon Santoso (INA) bt Du Pengyu (CHN) 16-21, 21-17, 21-17
Lee Chong Wei (MAS) bt K. Srikanth (IND) 21-19, 21-18
Women's singles semi-finals:
Li Xuerui (CHN) bt Sung Ji-Hyun (KOR) 21-13, 21-13
Wang Yihan (CHN) bt Han Li (CHN) 21-18, 21-12
Men's doubles semi-finals:
Cai Yun/Lu Kai (CHN) bt Kim Sa-Rang/Yoo Yeon-Seong (KOR) 21-19, 21-16
Lee Sheng-mu/Tsai Chia-hsin (TPE) bt Ko Sung-Hyun/Shin Baek-Choel (KOR) 22-20, 18-21, 21-14
Women's doubles semi-finals:
Christinna Pedersen/Kamilla Rytter Juhl (DEN) bt Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi (JPN) 11-21, 21-15, 21-14
Bao Yixin/Tang Jinhua (CHN) bt Luo Ying/Luo Yu (CHN) walkover
Mixed doubles semi-finals:
Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir (INA) bt Liu Cheng/Bao Yixin (CHN) 17-21, 21-11, 21-19
Riky Widianto/Puspita Richi Dili (INA) bt Ko Sung-Hyun/Kim Ha-Na (KOR) 20-22, 21-17, 21-16
