World number six Viktor Axelsen gave another great performance to reach the Yonex Japan Open semi-final, downing Lee Dong Keun of Korea 23-21, 21-17 on Friday.

Axelsen was solid in the last part of both games against Lee, taking control after he being down 15-19 in the opening game and extend his winning streak to two matches.

“I am ready for the semis at ‪Japan Open‬ after a hard fought win this afternoon. Lee made it hard for me on court today as I also struggled to find my best game in some periods of the match. However I'm happy about the win and really excited to get back on court tomorrow”, wrote the 21-year-old on Facebook.

Seeking his first Superseries title, Axelsen will face Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan in tomorrow’s semi-final.

Adcocks beaten by Olympic champions

Chris and Gabby Adcock were beaten by the Chinese top seeds Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei, the World and Olympic champions. The English pair went down  in two games 12-21, 13-21 after 36 minutes of play.
“We had a great performance in the first round beating a real dangerous Korean pair in a comfortable fashion and of course the second round was a much easier day than expected,” added Chris speaking to Badminton England.

“So all went to plan until today, where we were obviously disappointed with the performance. The Chinese were very sharp and we didn't quite keep our own level high enough throughout both sets and the Chinese took advantage of this. Obviously we will look forward to Korea to try and put right the things that didn't go right today, however we have not looked that far ahead yet.”

Click here for a photo gallery of the Yonex Japan Open.

Christinna Pedersen through to two semis

Joachim Fischer/Christinna Pedersen and Christinna Pedersen/Kamilla Rytter-Juhl cruised into the Yonex Japan Open semi-finals with two straight games victories. Fischer/Pedersen, the current European Champions, beat Liu Cheng/Bao Yixin of China 21-16, 21-12. The Danes will face Kim Gi Jung/Shin Seung Chan of Korea for a place in Sunday's title match.

World Championships silver medalists Kamilla Rytter-Juhl/Christinna Pedersen proved too strong today for their Indonesian opponents Nitya Krishinda Maheswari/Greysia Polii  The Danes won 21-19,21-17 to progress to the last four stage of the Superseries event. “Finally we took the win against Polii/Maheswari. Before this match our head to head was 0-4, so this win means a lot to us. We moved very well on court and tactical we were ahead throughout the match.”

Marin ousted by Wang Shixian

Carolina Marin crashed out of the Japan Open in the quarter-finals. Chinese 7th seed Wang Shixian stunned the Spanish top seed 13-21, 21-19, 21-15 to end her great run since she won the All-England Championships earlier this year.

“It was not my best day today but it’s time for rest and I will be ready for the tournaments to come. I'll come back stronger”, she posted on her official Facebook page.

Article by Manuel Rösler. Photo by BadmintonPhoto.