World No.1 Saina Nehwal beat Chinese Sun Yu 21-11, 18-21, 21-17 to reach the semi-finals of the $500,000 Malaysia Open Superseries Premier at the Putra Stadium here on Friday.
Saina was in her elements from the beginning. she hardly broke into a sweat before capturing the first game 21-11. After zooming to a 12-4 lead, it was easy for the 25-year-old Indian.
But in the second game, World No.15 Sun showed her grit and fought her way back. She raced to a 7-1 advantage and Saina chased the game before six straight points helped her equalise at 14-point mark. However, Sun kept her calm to take the second game 21-18.
Saina controlled the third game from the start. Relying on a strong array of strokes and sharp movement inside the court, the Hyderabadi enjoyed 11-7 lead at the break.
Sun fired seven points on the trot to level the game at 14-all and even held a 17-16 lead before Saina asserted herself and grabbed five consecutive points to snatch the game 21-17.
With this win in an hour and 11 minutes, Saina, who last week won the India Open, took a 3-1 lead over the 21-year-old Sun in career meetings.
