Singapore: Despite the absence of Tai Tzu-Ying and Akane Yamaguchi’s quarterfinal loss, the top two women’s singles players, An Se-Young of South Korea and Chen Yufei of China, have advanced smoothly to the Singapore Open final. Both players won their semifinals in straight sets on Saturday, setting up their 19th showdown in the final on Sunday.
Highlights of An Se-Young vs. Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the semi-finals of the 2024 Singapore Open:
Defending champion An Se-young faced world number 9 Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia in the semifinals, and she wasn’t troubled in the first game. Although she was trailed by a 5-point deficit in the second game, An steadily closed the gap and eventually secured the win, defeating Tunjung 21-14, 23-21, marking her seventh consecutive victory against Tunjung.
Meanwhile, World No. 2 Chen Yufei defeated Thai player Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-12, 21-17, improving their head-to-head record to 13-1.
This will be An Se-young’s third women’s singles final this season after the Malaysia Open and French Open. She will be aiming for her third title of the year tomorrow. Chen Yufei, although a finalist at the India Open and Asian Championships this season, has yet to win a title this year and will be seeking her first. In their 18 previous encounters, Chen Yufei holds a slight edge with 11 wins to 7 losses.
In women’s doubles, China’s Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan decisively defeated their teammates Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning 21-12, 21-17 advancing to the final. They will face Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida of Japan in the final.
In mixed doubles, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong overcame Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yoo-jung, coming back from a 6-point deficit in both games. The matches were intense and thrilling before Zheng/Huang won 21-16, 21-18.
Zheng/Huang are set to meet Yang Po-Hsuan/Hu Ling Fang of Taiwan in the final.
