by Ian Marshall, Editor

It was the classic encounter, the attacking player versus the defender, long rallies, the ball being returned from the nether regions of the court; the movement and graceful skills of Hitomi Sato were to be admired, the sheer tenacity of Wang Manyu to be revered.

“I did not make the best of starts, Hitomi played with great control; winning the third game was the turning point. In the last game the “Time Out” at 3-1 was important; it helped to calm me down.” Wang Manyu.

Hard earned, mightily hard earned for Wang Manyu, for colleague, Chen Meng, the no.3 seed, facing another defensive player, life was less exacting. Chen Meng accounted for Korea Republic’s Suh Hyowon, the no.12 seed, in four straight games (11-5, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9).

“I think I played well and I was stable; the tempo of the match was slow because she is a defensive player. Sometimes she decided to attack; I must say that I was a little relieved to win the close fourth game.” Chen Meng

Success for Chen Meng, in the top half of the draw in the second round of the Women’s Singles event, there was also success for colleague, Zhu Yuling, the top seed and for Japan’s Miyu Kato. Zhu Yuling beat compatriot and qualifier Liu Gaoyang (12-10, 11-6, 11-4, 11-4); Miyu Kato ended the hopes of Monaco’s Yang Xiaoxin, also a player whose journey had commenced in the preliminary rounds (13-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-4).

“I feel I played well today; especially in the first game when Gaoyang led 10-6, winning that game made all the difference.” Zhu Yuling

“I cannot say that the doubles matches earlier today made me tired; quite simply Zhu Yuling played well. Actually even at home in China, we have rarely played each other. She did well.” Liu Gaoyang

At the quarter-final stage, Zhu Yuling meets Miyu Kato, Wang Manyu opposes Chen Meng; the matches will be played later in the evening.