The feature men’s singles match of the opening day of the LI-NING China Masters 2023 saw HS Prannoy prevail over Chou Tien Chen in a close finish, 21-18 22-20 to make the second round.

Chou had his opportunity to take the match to three games, but Prannoy recovered from 16-18 down in the second to close the match in straight games and set up a face-off with Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen.

The 21-year-old Johannesen upset Lee Cheuk Yiu 15-21 21-17 21-19.

In the same quarter, Anders Antonsen had a surprisingly comfortable win over VICTOR Denmark Open champion Weng Hong Yang, 21-13 21-12. Antonsen’s next opponent will be third seed Kodai Naraoka, who also enjoyed a straight-games win in his first round.

Narrow Loss for Corbett/Lee  

World Junior Championships runners-up Francesca Corbett/Allison Lee were close to achieving their first win at a Super 750 event. The USA women’s doubles pair led Anne Tran/Margot Lambert until halfway through the third game before their opponents overtook them. Corbett and Lee saved three match points to come within a point of their opponents, before Tran/Lambert edged through 12-21 21-15 21-19.

“This is our second Super 750, so we’re very excited to play because we like playing these top pairs,” said Corbett. “Being on the Tour and playing the top pairs is a really good experience.”

“We came in prepared but there’s a loud crowd behind, so you have to hide your emotions, but it feels really nice playing with a loud crowd,” said Lee.

“I was nervous at first but we were there for each other so I felt a little bit more calm. Am happy overall but a little upset that we didn’t win.”

Highlights

In a contest between Malaysian pairs, Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik outplayed Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi 21-15 21-15.

In the closest match of the day, Akira Koga/Taichi Saito prevailed over Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin 21-23 24-22 21-19.

Fourth seed Tai Tzu Ying had little trouble against Supanida Katethong, easing through 21-17 21-13.

Results