Second seed Carolina Marin takes on unseeded Nozomi Okuhara in the second Women's singles semi-final of 2017 Malaysia Superseries Premier on Saturday.
Marin was tested by Ratchanok Intanon in their quarter-final match, that extended to an hour and two minutes yesterday. However, the Spaniard, who went down to the Thai shuttler in the last-eight stages of All England Championships last month, avenged her defeat by clinching the match 21-8, 18-21, 21-12.
On the other hand, Okuhara eased past Akane Yamaguchi, who had beaten her in the quarter-final of All England, in straight games yesterday to progress to the last-four stage.
Marin has been troubled by Okuhara in the past as she has lost four of their six meetings, with their recent clash - at All England Championships 2015 - ending in the latter's favour. However, the Spaniard has been at the top of her game since winning the Rio Olympic gold last year while the world number 10 has suffered a title drought since winning the championships in Birmingham last year.
Also, Marin has been in good form recently, finishing as runner-up at the India Superseries earlier this month. The world number three will also be motivated to improve her record against her familiar foe, especially after having a good run in the ongoing tournament.
Okuhara, on the other hand, will look to announce her comeback by beating the former champion today but it will be an uphill task against Marin, who has rarely slipped in the final stages of big tournaments.
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports 2
Malaysia: Astro Supersport
Singapore: StarHub Sports
