by Wade Townsend
China’s Wang Manyu defeated Japan’s Mima Ito(11-4, 11-8, 11-13, 10-12,9-11, 8-11) as she continues clearing out the Japanese seeds from the Women’s Singles draw.
On world ranking alone it would be considered an upset, but not when considering their past matches; Wang has never lost.
“It was a very tough match against Mima Ito, I think this is her best performance so far from all our past encounters.” Wang Manyu
Wang is wary of Ito’s improvement.
“Her skills have definitely improved. In the past, it’s mainly her first two shots that are very powerful, now she has more of those high quality shots. There’s also more variety in how she receive my serves.” Wang Manyu
So what tactics did she use for the match? Her coach had a unique approach.
“Coach Xiao Zhan advised me to play as if I’m already losing.” Wang Manyu
Wang will meet colleague Sun Yingsha in the semi final after she defeated Germany’s Shan Xiona.
The match was an even playing field, with the players exchanging games. A long serve by Shan at 11-11 in fourth sealed her fate. Sun recieved with a forehand winner and took the game. She then found an early lead in the sixth that Shan couldn’t overcome. Sun won the match 4-2 (11-7, 4-11, 11-3, 9-11,13-11, 11-8).
