Denmark Open: Saina sets up semis clash with World No 1

Odense (Denmark): Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal set up a semifinal clash against old nemesis and world number one Wang Yihan of China after easing past local hope Tine Baun in straight games at the Denmark Open here. Third seed Saina took just 33 minutes to beat fifth seed Baun 21-10, 21-11 to make the last-four stage where she will be up against an opponent who has beaten her in all their six previous encounters. Saina, playing her first tournament after becoming the first Indian shuttler to fetch an Olympic medal (a bronze) in London, was hardly troubled in the match yesterday. [caption id=“attachment_497167” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Reuters[/caption] With her trademark smashes and better command over the baseline game, the world number four Indian dictated the proceedings and emerged triumphant. This is Saina’s fourth straight win over Baun. The two had also come face to face in the London Olympics and the Indian had prevailed in that match. In fact, Baun has not beaten Saina since the Indonesia Open last November. Saina has a tough match coming up against Wang, who is the London Olympics silver-medallist. Incidentally, Wang had beaten Saina in the Olympic semifinals. PTI