Guo nails down Feng in the semis at World Cup

The Yokohama World Championships runner-up Guo Yue survived a neck-and-neck semifinal to beat Singapore's Feng Tianwei at the World Cup on Monday.

It took Guo one hour to book the 11-8, 5-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8 win against Feng, the sole non-Chinese semifinalist.

Guo started well in the first set by taking a 3-2 lead and held through.

Feng fought back in the second after lagging behind 4-5, winning seven straight points.

Feng continued her performance and earned four set points at 10-6, but failed to convert on any of them. The same happened in the fourth set when Feng took a lead of 10-6, in which Feng grasped the third set point and won it 11-8.

Guo dominated the fifth and sixth sets.

"It will be my first finals at the World Cup," said Guo, who didn't enter the last four at 2008 World Cup. "I will try my best to claim the title."

Guo will face talented teenage Liu Shiwen in the finals. Liu upset defending champion Li Xiaoxia 13-15, 11-8, 16-14, 11-9, 11-9 in a Chinese derby in the other semifinal.

Liu, who brought home a bronze medal from the world championships in Yokohama, Japan, overcame an early setback by beating the defending champion at her debut at the World Cup with a cheering crowd rooting for the 18-year-old Guangzhou local throughout the match.

"I didn't find the rhythm at the beginning, but I quickly adapted to the step afterwards," said Liu, who was under the direction of the same coach Kong Linghui in the Chinese national team with Guo. "In the finals, I will meet my teammate and good friend Guo Yue, hopefully we can provide an excellent match."

Source: Xinhua