SINGAPORE: Chinese badminton ace Lin Dan squeezed out a victory over veteran Dane Peter Gade Saturday to set up an all-Chinese men's final at the Singapore Open. In the women's draw, Denmark's world No. 9 Tine Baun pulled off an upset in the semifinal when she defeated China's world number one and All-England champion Wang Shixian in straight games 21-15 and 21-16. Lin will play compatriot Chen Jin, the reigning world champion, who earlier despatched countryman Wang Zhengming in straight games 21-17, 21-11 in the first semifinal. Super Dan, as he is known to his millions of zealous fans, was made to work hard for his semifinal win after losing the first set 20-22 despite holding a couple of game points. The Chinese superstar, regarded as badminton's Roger Federer, tightened up his game in the final two sets and kept up his trademark aerial smashes and retrieving skills to fend off his 34-year-old opponent. Long rallies characterized by airborne smashes and delicate net exchanges had the crowd at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in rapture as Lin took the last two games 21-17 and 21-15. Gade, who has a losing record against Lin, was not able to sustain his assault on the Chinese ace over three games. In the first men's semifinal, Chen was in top form as he outclassed his younger opponent with superb smashes and deftly placed drop shots to advance to Sunday's final. Errors started to flow more frequently from Wang's racquet in the second game as Chen kept up the pace of his attacks and was quick to punish weak returns from his 21-year-old compatriot. Wang, touted by many as the future of Chinese badminton and possibly a successor to the great Lin, gave credit to the world champion's sizzling display. In the women's final, Baun will play for the title against China's world number two Wang Xin who saw off Yao Jie of the Netherlands in straight games 21-13 and 21-11. Baun is pleased with her form heading into Sunday's final after her victory over the world's top female player. The Singapore Open is the fifth leg of the 12-stop Badminton World Federation Super Series, with the top eight men's and women's singles players and doubles pairs qualifying for the end-of-year showpiece. – Agence France
