Second seed Shi Yuqi takes on sixth seed Tzu Wei Wang in the Men's singles semi-final of 2017 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold on Saturday evening.
Shi needed only 39 minutes to demolish India's HS Prannoy in his quarter-final 21-19, 21-11 yesterday. Meanwhile, Tzu survived an hour-long marathon against Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama in his last-eight outing. After losing the first game 14-21, the Taiwan shuttler came back to take the match 14-21, 21-16, 21-17.
After winning three titles in 2016, including his first Superseries title in France and two Grand Prix Gold tournaments (Indonesian Masters and Bitburger Open), Shi narrowly missed out on Dubai Superseries Finals berth but the 21-year-old began the new season with some consistent performances at the inaugural Mixed Asia Team Championships.
The world number eight grabbed headlines earlier this month when he stunned higher-ranked compatriot Lin Dan in the semi-final of All England, much to the disappointment of fans who were waiting to see the latter and Lee Chong Wei in the final. The in-form shuttler after having stumbled at the final hurdle will want to make amends in the ongoing tournament and a possibility of meeting Lin again tomorrow will motivate him to give his best against his semi-final opponent.
Tzu also has also been a giant-slayer early in the season as he stunned Chen Long in the semi-final of German Open earlier this year. However, it will be an uphill task for him against the rampant Shi, especially after playing a couple of long matches in Basel.
TV Schedule
Singapore: Hub Sports
Malaysia: Astro Supersport
India: Star Sports
