KUALA LUMPUR, Jane 22 — World No. 1 men’s singles shutter Lee Chong Wei will face Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam in the semi-final of the Malaysia Open Super Series at the Putra Stadium of the National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil Saturday.
In the quarter-final on Friday, the 26-year-old Chong Wei, who is the top seed and Beijing Olympic silver medallist, was forced to work extra hard before defeating fifth-seeded and the world’s third-ranked Chen Jin of China 21-14, 16- 21, 21-15 in a 70-minute epic battle.
"The rubber set decider might be due to tiredness taking a toll on myself, particularly after having clinched the Korean Open title last week. Somehow or rather, I managed to clinch the point via attacking play in the first set, then more to defence in the second and third. I know I am tired but I just held my line till the end," he said.
On his semi-final encounter Saturday against the unseeded Tien Minh, Chong Wei said Tien Minh was a "dangerous" player and he should be careful.
For the record, Chong Wei has beaten the 27-year-old and world ranked 7th Tien Minh four times and lost to him once, in the quarter-final of the Singapore Open in June last year.
Earlier, the small-sized Vietnamese showed speed, power, agility and intelligent play to overcome Danish player Jan O Jorgensen in straight sets 21- 17, 22-20.
"I really hope that I could continue to play well tomorrow as I did today. But the reality is the semi-final match will be a tough one as Chong Wei is very strong and is playing in front of a home crowd," he said.
Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Peter Gade-Christensen of Denmark clinched his place in the last four after beating Thailand’s Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-15, 21-13.
In the semi-final, Peter Gade, who was the Korean Open finalist and last year’s Malaysia Open runner-up, will face another Thai, Ponsana Boonsak.
Ponsana Boonsak, in the quarter-final match Friday, beat national back-up elite player Chong Wei Feng 21-14, 21-9.
