China Sweeps World Championships

The all-conquering Chinese stormed into all five finals, three of being all-Chinese finals with only Taufik Hidayat as well as the partnership of Koo and Tan in the doubles breaking up the Chinese monopoly.

The mixed doubles final was the first meeting between Zheng and Ma, the 8th seed against the 6th seed He and Yu in the first of the all-Chinese finals. The match went in the favour of Zheng and Ma from the start, only giving up the lead in the middle part of first game at 10-11 before winning 11 of the next 14 points to take the opening game 21-14. The second game was more of the same dominating play from the 8th seeds as they pulled out an early 7-2 advantage and took the second game and their first world title, winning the match 21-14, 21-10.

Taufik Hidayat entered the final in a superb run of form after his quarter final win over Lee Chong Wei and semi final against Park Sung Hwan. His opponent was also in excellent form after his three-game win over Peter Gade in the semi final. The match promised a lot but it was a one-sided encounter that was dominated by the Chinese player. Hidayat failed to even take a lead in the final, with Chen Jin winning 21-15, 21-13.

The second all-Chinese final was in the women’s singles as Wang Lin took on Wang Xin and unlike the previous two finals, it was a highly competitive encounter that went all the way to a third and final game. Wang Lin took the initiative in the final game and after a tight opening to the third game that seen her 8-10 down, she reeled off 5 points in a row to take a lead that she would never give up to win her first world title, taking the match 21-11, 19-21, 21-13 in 58 minutes.

Yu Yang had her chance for revenge after her mixed doubles defeat over Ma Jin in the women’s doubles final and duely delivered with the most one-sided of the matches on finals day in Paris. The 21-9, 21-17 victory was a 39 minute encounter and was the third win in a row for Yu and Du over their Chinese team-mates.

Cai and Fu usually always deliver an memorable final such as last year, this year they took on the top seeded Koo and Tan of Malaysia for a chance of a clean sweep of titles for China. They lost their opening game to the top seeded Malaysians, only to fight back to take it into another deciding game like the 2009 final. There was no repeat of the 2009 final as the 5th seeds dominated the 3rd game to retain their world championship and complete the Chinese sweep as well as five wins for the lower seed in the matches played today.

Finals Results

Chen Jin - 1 of 8 Chinese Finalists

The possibility of a European winner in Paris ended today as the Chinese juggernaut was in a relentless mood as they stormed into eight of the ten finals places for tomorrow.

Peter Gade’s dream of making the world championship final was but a game away but Chen Jin stormed back in the next two games, allowing the Dane just 19 points from the last two games as it was the Chinese player who won their 71-minute encounter 19-21, 21-11, 21-8.

Chen Jin’s opponent in tomorrow’s final is the enigmatic Taufik Hidayat who has returned his former greatness with a stunning week, capped of today in booking his place in tomorrow’s final with a hard fought two game victory over Park Sung Hwan, who defeated Lin Dan yesterday. The 5th seed is the only non-Chinese player in either singles final tomorrow.

Many people earlier in the week predicted an all-Chinese final in the women’s singles, with Wang Yihan almost certain to feature but it is the 7th seed Wang Lin who is in tomorrow’s final from the top half of the draw after a stunning performance over the European champion Tine Baun in a 31-minute masterclass by the 7th seed. Winning 21-11, 21-8 to reach the final.

The other semi final was an all-Chinese match between Wang Xin and Wang Shixian that was a far more even encounter than the first semi final. It was the 3rd seeded Wang Xin who took the deciding game 21-16 to book her place in the all-Chinese final against Wang Lin, who eventually won the 57-minute encounter.

Top seeded Koo and Tan’s performances of late had been poor and had not reached a final since March. This week they have been deserving of the top seeding after a fantastic two game victory over the 4th seeded Guo and Xu of China, taking the match 21-14, 21-18 in 39 minutes to book their place in tomorrow’s final. They will play the 2009 world champions and 5th seeds Cai and Fu in the final after their two game victory over the 2nd seeded Kido and Setiawan, winning 21-16, 21-13 in just 36 minutes and without dropping a game on route to the final, winning all four of their matches in two games.

The women’s doubles pits the top two seeds against each other for the world championship as Du and Fu, the 2nd seeds defeated the 3rd seeded Chien and Cheng of Chinese Taipei in two games to book their place in tomorrow’s final, for Yu Yang it was her second game of the day. Ma and Wang are also through to tomorrow’s final but spent over an hour on court after Ma Jin had already played in the days opening mixed doubles game. The top seeds battled back from losing the opening game 21-10 to defeat their teammates and 4th seeded Cheng and Zhao to progress into tomorrow’s final.

The mixed doubles will have two of the women’s doubles finalists in it also, with Ma Jin teaming up with Zheng Bo after their three game victory over Ko and Ha of Korea put the 8th seeded pair into the final, with Ma Jin spending over two hours on court today for her to progress into two world championship finals. For Yu Yang, her and partner He Hanbin spent a mere 29 minutes disposing of the 16th seeded Chien and Lee of Chinese Taipei to book their place in tomorrow’s final. Chien Yu Chin was another player playing in two semi finals today and was defeated both times by Yu Yang.

Tomorrow’s order of play starts with the mixed doubles, with the two pairs playing for the first time, in the world championship final. The men’s singles between Chen Jin and Taufik Hidayat is on next, with Chen Jin holding a 2-1 record ove the Indonesia, who defeated the Chinese player in 2007.

The women’s singles final is perhaps the most difficult to predict, with both players in excellent form and holding a 1-1 record against each other, both matches taking place within a week of each other in September of 2009. The women’s doubles has the top two seeds in it but it is the lower seeded pair that have the advantage in the head to head, leading 4-1 with Ma and Jin’s sole victory coming in November last year.

The men’s doubles final with be the 9th meeting between the pairs since 2007, with Cai and Fu taking the last three victories, most notably at the Uber Cup finals in May this year and the Chinese pair have won five of the last six encounters against the Malaysians and lead the head to head 5-3

Day 6 Results

Lin Dan Isn't Smiling Now

Another two top seeds crashed out on a day of shocks in Paris as several big names crashed out on quarterfinals day.

The men’s singles suffered two major casualties, both on the top half of the draw as World #1 and top seed Lee Chong Wei was defeated by a re-energised Taufik Hidayat who continues his excellent run at this years event with a three-game, 61 minute victory over the Malaysian. Many expected a classic match against Lin Dan in the semi finals, only for Park Sung Hwan of Korea to end the Chinese 3rd seed run at the last 8. His 21-13, 21-13 win over Lin Dan sent shockwaves in the draw, piling pressure on Gade to seize the opportunity that the days play had offered him, a chance at the world championship.

Chen Jin awaited the winner of Gade’s match, securing his place in the last 4 with a three-game win over Hsueh Hsuan Yi of Chinese Taipei in 64 minutes. Peter Gade entered the arena as the clear fans favourite and delivered a masterful performance over Kazushi Yamada, winning in two games 21-19, 21-12 to set up a semi final clash with Chen Jin.

The second seed in the women’s draw crashed out as Saina Nehwal was comfortably beaten by the 6th seeded Wang Shixian of China, the two game 35 minute encounter was completely dominated by the Chinese player who rightfully deserved her place in the semi final in her first world championships. Her opponent in the semi finals is the 3rd seeded Wang Xin of China, who ended the hopes of a French world champion with her 21-13, 21-15 win over Pi Hongyan in 34 minutes.

The other semi final features Wang Lin of China, the 7th seed avenged the defeat of Wang Yihan today with a two game win over Eriko Hirose, winning 21-16, 21-17 to take on the last European in the draw, Tine Baun of Denmark. The 4th seed defeated the unseeded Cheng Shao Chieh in two games to set up her last 4 encounter with Wang Lin.

The top seeds in the men’s doubles are still in the competition, as Koo and Tan defeated last years finalists Lee and Jung in three games in a 72-minute encounter to set up a semi final against Guo and Xu who defeated Paaske and Rasmussen in two games to reach the last 4. The other semi final sees the second seeded Kido and Setiawan, who defeated the 6th seeded Fang and Lee take on the form duo of the competition and reigning champions, Cai and Fu of China. The 5th seeds defeated Mogensen and Boe in a clinical 41-minute, two game victory to set up a semi final against the 2nd seeds.

The top four seeds in the women’s doubles remain intact at the semi final stage, with top seeds Ma and Wang coming through their quarter final in three games over Ha and Kim of Korea to set up an all-Chinese semi final against 4th seeded Cheng and Zhao. The other semi final sees the 2nd seeded Du and Yu take on the 3rd seeded Cheng and Chien who have both reached the last 4 without the loss of a game this week.

The top seeds in the mixed doubles also fell today, with Widianto and Natsir losing to Zheng and Ma of China, the 8th seeds in two games. The 12th seeded Ko and Ha are also an unexpected pair to be still in the draw at this late stage, they defeated the 9th seeded India pairing of Diju and Gutta in two games in the first match on Court 2 today.

The other semi final is features another unlikely duo, the 16th seeded Lee and Chien of Chinese Taipei who defeated the 10th seeded Jiaming and Yawen in three games in just under a hour to book their place in the last 4. They will play He and Yu of China after their two game victory over the current world champions Laybourn and Rytter Juhl in 43 minutes.

Day 5 Results

Lee Chong Wei Crushes Ouseph

Wang Yihan’s dream to be world champion ended today, as she became the first top seed to be toppled in this year’s championship. Other top seeds had to fight to remain their event and to reach the last 8 tomorrow.

Widianto and Natsir, the top seeds in the mixed doubles were given a real scare by unseeded Kim and Yoo of Korea as they trailed 18-15 in the final game, only to fight back brilliantly and win the deciding game 21-19 to progress into the last 8 where they will play Zheng and Ma of China. The Chinese 8th seeds have had little trouble in progressing to the last 8 with two game victories in both their matches to date, spending just 70 minutes on court to reach the quarter finals.

The current world champions and second seeds Laybourn and Rytter Juhl were also take to three games by the 15th seeded Robertson and Wallwork, with the English pair getting as close as 19-18 in the decider before the Danes took the final game 21-18. They will play the 6th seeded He and Yu have been impressive in their opening two matches, very similarly to Zheng and Ma but have spent just 51 minutes on court to reach the last 8.

Olympic champions Lee and Lee crashed out at the last 16 stage, with question marks still over their overall fitness and whether one or both were carrying an injury into the champions. They were defeated in two games by the 16th seeded Lee and Chien of Chinese Taipei, who will play Gunawan and Marissa of Indonesia OR Jiaming and Yawen of China.

Eriko Hirose stunned the draw with her three game victory over top seed Wang Yihan of China, after coming back from a game down to secure victory 20-22, 21-16, 21-18 and will play another Chinese player in the last 8, 7th seeded Wang Lin who defeated 12th seed Yip Pui Yin in two games to book her place in tomorrow’s quarter finals.

Second seed Saina Nehwal had less trouble progressing than her match yesterday, defeating Ella Diehl seeded 13 from Russia in two games to set up her quarterfinal match against 6th seeded Wang Shixian after she defeated 11th seed Yao Jie 21-13, 21-5. The French still have one player the draw, Pi Hongyan coming through in three games against Kim Moon Hi of Korea, the 16th seed.

There were also wins for the 3rd seeded Wang Xin over Ai Goto in two games as well as 4th seeded Tine Baun in two close games over Petya Nedelcheva, winning 21-19, 23-21 to become the highest seed left in the top half of the draw. She rakes on Cheng Shao Chieh of Chinese Taipei who defeated the 8th seeded Juliane Schenk in three tight games, winning 21-19 in the deciding game.

Lin Dan’s credentials were finally tested thoroughly by his teammate and 10th seed Bao Chunlai who beat him in the All Englands in March. However there was to be no repeat of that match as the 3rd seed won in comfortable style 21-16, 21-13 to book him place in the last 8. Peter Gade is also through to the last 8 after a two game victory over Germany’s Marc Zwiebler, winning 21-14, 21-15 to set up a quarter final match with Kazushi Yamada of Japan who defeated Dicky Palyama in three games to book his place in tomorrow’s quarter final.

Chen Jin is also through to the last 8, seeing off the challenge of Chen Yong Zhao Ashton of Singapore who was one of the stories of the earlier rounds but lost to the 4th seed 21-17, 21-10. The match of the day tomorrow will be against the top seeded Lee Chong Wei, who defeated Rajiv Ouseph 21-9, 21-9 to set up a quarter final clash with Taufik Hidayat. The 5th seed coming through his third round match with Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand in two games to set up tomorrow’s quarterfinal.

The men’s and women’s doubles are the only events with the top 8 seeds still in the competition, however in the women’s doubles the 8th seeded Hyun and Jung were taken all the way by 12th seeded Sorokina and Vislova, coming through 26-24 in the third game to set up their quarterfinal against Cheng and Chien, the 3rd seeds. The other 7 seeds safely progressed into the last 8 in two games.

The 4th seeds in the men’s doubles Guo and Xu were the only seed in the draw that were taken to three games. Chen and Lin taking the opening game before the Chinese pair took the next two to set up a match against the 8th seeds and All England champions, Paaske and Rasmussen. The second China – Denmark match in the men’s doubles sees Boe and Mogensen, seeded 3 take on the current world champions, Cai and Fu who put in the performance of the day in their 21-6, 21-9 victory over Robertson and Clark of England.

Day 4 Results

Hidayat Squeezes Into Last 16

Another day and another few seeds crash out early. Sony Kuncoro’s withdrawal was old news but the match that he was supposed to play was scheduled for today, meaning the definite end for the 8th seed. He wasn’t the only seed to not see the last 16 as Jan Jorgensen’s poor form in 2010 saw him crash out to Rajiv Ouspeh of England in two games.

Ouseph’s win sets up a last 16 encounter with top seed Lee Chong Wei, who came through his all-Malaysia encounter with unseeded Muhammad Hafiz Hashim, winning 21-16, 21-16. The 12th seeded Kenichi Tago was also defeated today, losing to Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand in two tight games and sets up a last 16 match with the 5th seeded Taufik Hidayat who came through his match with Hsieh Yu Hsin in three games.

Lin Dan and Bao Chunlai had little trouble in setting up one of the best matches of the third round tomorrow, both comfortably winning in two games. The last round of 16 match in the top half sees 7th seeded Tien Minh Nguyen take on the 13th seeded Park Sung Hwan of Korea after the pair also won their second round matches in two games.

Chen Yong Zhao Ashton of Singapore is the unlikely story of the event, defeating Stephan Wojcikiewicz in his second round match to set up a third round encounter with 4th seeded Chen Jin, after he defeated another European to book his place in the last 16, beating Kestutis Navickas of Lithuania 21-16, 21-16 and will play Chen in tomorrow for a place in the quarter finals.

Boonsak Ponsana, the 9th seed defeated England’s Carl Baxter and plays Hsueh Hsuan Yi who was scheduled to play the 8th seeded Simon Santoso, only for the Indonesian player to pull out; leaving Hidayat as their best chance of success. Kazuski Yamada in into tomorrow’s third round after the Japanese player defeated 16th seeded Wong Choong Hann in three games and will take on Dicky Palyama of Holland after a two game victory over Misha Zilberman.

The final match of the last 16 is a rematch of the European Championship semi final, between Marc Zwiebler seeded 15 and Peter Gade, the second seed. Gade was on court for 74 minutes to fend off Shon Wan Ho of Korea in three games whilst Zwiebler defeated his Spanish opponent Pablo Abian in two games.

The bottom half of the women’s singles played their 2nd round matches today, without the loss of a seed in the entire half of the draw except for Zhou Mi who withdrew pre-event. Only Ai Goto remains unseeded in the lower half, defeating Linda Zechiri of Bulgaria 21-8, 21-10 to book her place in the last 16 against Wang Xin of China, the 3rd seed.

Pi Hongyan is France’s best chance of a title this week and started with an impressive 21-8, 21-8 win over Elena Prus of Ukraine. She takes on the 16th seed Kim Moon Hi of Korea, who came through her match in three games. Saina Nehwal had to come from a game down to progress into the 3rd round, eventually winning 20-22, 21-15, 21-8 over Chen Hsiao Huan of Chinese Taipei. Newhal takes on Russia’s 13th seed, Ella Diehl.

The bottom half of the men’s doubles played their second round matches, with Clark and Robertson continuing their excellent from with another two game win to set up a third round match against Cai and Fu of China after their two game win also today. 3rd seeded Boe and Mogensen safely progressed into the last 16 with a two game win over fellow Danes Faust and Kristiansen to set up a match with Ko and Yoo of Korea, seeded 13.

Kido and Setiawan had to work hard against Poland’s Cwalina and Logosz to set up an all-Indonesia third round match with Dasuki and Sukmawan.The final match from the bottom half sees 6th seeded Fang and Lee of Chinese Taipei take on Hashimoto and Hirata of Japan, seeded 11. Fang and Lee winning easily in two games whilst the Japanese pair were taken to three games by Malaysia’s Gan and Tan.

Just like in the women’s singles, 7 seeds remain from the 8 that started in the bottom half of the draw. Mason and Bankier defeated the 13th seeds in their opening round but lost out to Van Dooremalen and Jonathans of Holland in their second round game in two games, who will take on the 3rd seeded Cheng and Chien of Chinese Taipei in Round 3.

Du and Yu, China’s second seeds defeated French pairing Fontaine and Luttmann in their opening match of the championships in two games to set up a match with the 15th seeded Matsuo and Naito whose 21-0, 21-8 win over Virta and Rautala was perhaps the most impressive performance of the week to date.

There were also impressive wins for Sorokina and Vislova over another French pair of Chanteur and Matias, the 12th seeds winning 21-8, 21-7 to set up a third round match with Hyun and Jung of Korea who were a game up over Gao and Ko of Canada when the pair retired.

Lee and Lee finally ended the questions over their fitness with a two game win in their opening match, they will play Lee and Chien of Chinese Taipei tomorrow in their last 16 match. There were also wins for Gunawan and Marissa who had to come back from a game down against South Africa’s James and Edwards in what would have been one of the shocks of the week.

The world championships begun their campaign with a tough two game encounter, setting Laybourn and Rytter Juhl with a third round match with Robertson and Wallwork of England, the 15th seeds. All 8 seeds on the bottom of half of the mixed doubles are still in the event.

Day 3 Results

Gade Starts Strong

The upsets failed to materialize on Day 1 but there were a few big names crashing out of the mixed doubles in on the second day of the World Championships.

The bottom half of the draw for the men’s singles got underway today, with 2nd seeded Peter Gade being the main attraction on this side of the draw. His opponent with the Brazilian Daniel Paiola wasn’t expected to trouble the Dane and that was the case as Gade stormed into Round 2 in just 23 minutes, winning 21-10, 21-7. 4th seeded Chen Jin of China is also safely into the second round, defeating Finland’s Ville Lang in his first match 21-14, 21-14.

There was some good news for Indonesia after Kuncoro’s injury, with 8th seeded Simon Santoso progressing to the second round after a two game victory over Poland’s Przemyslaw Wacha. There were also wins for Wong Choong Hann, Marc Zwiebler but a surprise loss for the 14th seeded Chetan Anand in two games, losing to Singapore’s Chen Yong Zhao Ashton. 9th seeded Boonsak Ponsana is also safety into Round 2 after an impressive 21-6, 21-6 victory over Russia’s Vladimir Malkov.

The top half of the women’s singles got underway today, with top seed Wang Yihan winning her opening match in two games. There was similar success for 7th seeded Wang Lin after Maja Tvrdy of Slovenia. Both Chinese players will play seeded opponents in their third round matches, with 10th seed Eriko Hirose taking on Wang Yihan after her second two game victory of the week. 12th seeded Yip Pui Yin takes on Wang Lin after defeating Anna Rice in two games.

There was a winning start for Tine Baun also, the 4th seed defeating Lianne Tan of Belgium to book her place in the last 16. She will play the 15th seeded Petya Nedelcheva after a two game victory over Larisa Griga of Ukraine. There was a late shock in as Cheng Shao Chieh defeated the 14th seeded Bae Sueng Hee in three games to book her place in the last 16. The 8th seeded Juliane Schenk was the last person on this side of the draw to book her place, defeating her Malaysian opponent in two games to go into Round 3.

The top half of the men’s doubles also took place today, with 7th seeded Lee and Jung progressing against the American duo of Fogarty and Neumann, winning the match 21-13, 21-4. The 4th seeded Guo and Xu are also through after an early scare in the opening game against Langridge and Middleton of England but eventually progressed 24-22, 21-15. Paaske and Rasmussen defeated their Austrian opponents in two games to also progress into the last 16.

There were also wins for the 12th seeded Chen and Lin as well as 14th seeded Chinese pair of Chai and Zhang. However the 9th seeded Chendra and Gunawan lost surprisingly to Suputra and Wijaya of Singapore in two games, another scalp taken by the Singapore squad at the championships. The 15th seeded Indian pair of Kumar and Thomas ended the African interest at the World Championships with a 21-14, 21-16 with over Viljoen and James of South Africa. The final match of the day seen the top seeds, Koo and Tan defeated the Czech duo of Kopriva and Kopriva to set up a 3rd round match against Chai and Zhang, the 14hth seeds from China.

The top seeds in the women’s doubles are safely into the last 16 as Ma and Jin comfortably beat their opponents, Wang and Wang from the USA 21-7, 21-7 to book their 3rd round match against Sari and Yao of Singapore. 5th seeded Miyuki and Suetsuna are also through to the last 16 with a two game win over Molina and Ojeda of Spain and take on the 10th seeded Nedelcheva and Russkikh.

The most convincing performance of the day came from the 6th seeded Ha and Kim of Korea who defeated Gruber and Jaquet 21-2, 21-5 in just 18 minutes to set up their 3rd round match against the 16th seeded Gutta and Ponnappa of India, who defeated Ukraine’s Ultina and Voytsekh in two games to book their place in the last 16.

In the bottom half of the draw, where no matches took place today there was still news as Lee and Lee pulled out of their second round match against Pan and TIan of Chinese tomorrow. This is likely due to an injury to Lee Kyung Won as Lee Hyo Jung is still scheduled to play with Lee Yong Dae in tomorrow’s mixed doubles match.

The biggest shock of the day came in the mixed doubles as 3rd seeded Mateusiak and Kostiuczyk were stunned by Singapore’s Triyachart and Yao to cap off a stunning day of upsets for the Singapore squad, winning the match in three games, 21-13, 16-21, 21-14. There was another seed falling in the same half of the draw as 11th seeded Chen and Chou crashed out to Yoo and Kim of Korea, who won the deciding game 24-22 to book their place in the last 16.

There were no such problems for others seeds, as the 12th seeded Ko and Ha progressed into the third round with a two game win over Hashimoto and Fujii of Japan. There was also an impressive win from the 8th seeded Zheng and Ma as they play just their 6th tournament of the year but still managed an impressive 21-7, 21-9 victory over their Ukrainian opponents. One of the final matches of the day saw the top seeded Natsir and Widianto defeat Kurniawan and Bernadet also of Indonesia in two games to progress into Round 3.

Day 2 Results

Kuncoro Withdraws From Worlds

The day began with the news of Sony Kuncoro’s withdrawal from the men’s singles with a back injury, Misha Zilberman who was expected to play Kuncoro tomorrow has a bye into round 2. The questions going into today were of Lin Dan and if he had the hunger for a run at the title this year.

We didn’t have to wait long for an answer as the 3rd seed won his opening round match over Iran’s Ali Shahhosseini 21-4, 21-10 in 26 minutes to book his place in Wednesday’s second round where he will play Sweden’s Henri Hurskainen after a two game victory over Hungary’s Henrik Toth. Play begun at 10am with the World #1 Lee Chong Wei in his quest to all to his first All England triumph in March, he started his campaign against Kevin Cordon and promptly progressed into the second round, winning his match 21-7, 21-11.

Jan Jorgensen looks to have put his recent dip in form behind him with a two game victory over Austria’s Michael Lahensteiner to book a second round match with Rajiv Ouseph. The Englishman took on Eric Pang in one of the best matches of the opening round today, with Ouseph coming through 23-21 in the 3rd game to book his place against the 11th seeded Jorgensen. There was also a comfortable two game victory for Taufik Hidayat over Nigeria’s Ola Fagbemi and the 5th seed takes on Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Yu Hsin in Round 2 on Wednesday.

10th seeded Bao Chunlai is safely through into Round 2 after a 21-11, 21-17 win over Hong Kong’s Yan Kit Chan and will play Canada’s David Snider on Wednesday after his two game win over Scotland’s Alistair Casey. The 7th seeded Tien Minh Nguyen and 13th seeded Park Sung Hwan are also through to Wednesday’s second round after both won in two games.

In the Women’s singles, the top 8 seeds received byes so it was a day for the lower seeded players to impress. Yip Pui Yin was the first of the seeds to progress into Round 2, the 12th seed defeating France’s Perrine Lebuhanic in two games. However for the 11th seeded Yao Jie, the job was a lot harder as she was taken to a third game by Singapore’s Xing Aiying before coming through after a 50 minute encounter.

The 13th seed Ella Diehl defeated Jeanine Cicognini in two games, but the 15th seeded Petya Nedelcheva needed three games to defeat Judith Meulendijks in 55 minutes. There were also wins for the 10th seeded Eriko Hirose and for 14th seeded Bae Sueng Hee of Korea. Ai Goto is also one to watch this week, the Japanese woman is in an excellent run of form and defeated Alesia Zaitsava 21-9, 21-9 to prove her own credentials.

The biggest shock of the day came late on day 1 as Robertson and Clark took out the 10th seeded Bach and Gunawan in the men’s doubles, winning 21-9, 22-20. The 16th seeded Choong and Lee are also out, losing in three games to the German pairing of Hopp and Schottler. This means that the higher seedings in the section will not have to play a seed until the quarter final, which in these sections is Kido and Setiawan (Hopp/Schottler) and Cai/Fu (Robertson/Clark).

There were a few withdrawals in the event also, allowing the 9th seeded Chandra and Setiawan a bye into Round 2 as well as the 14th seeded Chai and Zhang. There were some seeds in action who progressed into the second round, 13th seeds Ko and Yoo are safely into the next round as well as the 11th seeded Hashimoto and Hirata of Japan.

The longest match of the day came in the women’s doubles as the unseeded Mason and Bankier of Scotland put out the 13th seeded pair Amitapai and Munkit of Thailand in three games. The 65-minute encounter was the only match to surpass the one-hour mark today. They take on the Dutch pairing of Jonathans and Van Dooremalen after they received a first round bye after Frier Kristiansen and Roepke’s withdrawal. There were impressive wins for the 12th seeded Sorokina and Vislova over Kobtseva and Prus of Ukraine, winning 21-16, 21-5.

The 4th seeded Cheng and Zhao have also received a second round bye after the withdrawal of Chang and Chou of Chinese Taipei today. The 16th seeded Gutta and Ponnappa of India received a first round bye after Barning and Muskens of Holland also pulled out today. The most impressive performance of the day came from the English pairing of White and Wallwork as they progressed into Round 2 with a stunning 21-3, 21-14 victory today.

The 11th seeded Chen and Chou ensured that Johannes Schottler would not put out a second seed on the day, defeating him and his partner Sandra Marinello 21-13, 21-14 to progress into Round 2. Gabrielle White was also looking to create more news as her and partner Chris Adcock took the 9th seeded Indian’s to a deciding game, only to lose out to V and Gutta 21-8 in the deciding game.

Day 2 will see the end of the opening round matches for the men’s singles and mixed doubles before the start of the top names in women’s singles take centre stage night 2 of the World Championships.

Day 1 Results

Natsir and Widianto Top The Draw

The question marks over the 2008 Olympic champions Lee and Lee making the World Championships were still unanswered as little as 3 weeks ago as Lee Hyo Jung pulled out of Macau just as Lee Yong Dae returned from his own injury layoff, however they are here in Paris. The Chinese squad come here without a seed in the top 5 and will look for an exceptional performance from one of three seeded pairings.

The top seeds are Widianto and Natsir and after their first round bye, they will play another Indonesia pair of Kurniawan and Bernadet ranked 14^th in the world but not seeded for the world championships. The 11^th seeded Chen and Chou is the other seeds in the section and play against Germany’s Schottler and Marinello for a place in the second round, the other match in the section is between Australian pair Raj and Renuga Veeran and Yoo and Kim of Korea.

Zheng and Ma are the 8^th seeds, even though they are provisionally ranked 35^th in the world and have failed to live up to the hype surrounding them for the past few years, could this year be their year? They begin their campaign against Zavadsky and Diptan of Ukraine, ranked 91^st in the world. Also in this section is the 14^th seeds, Thailand’s Prapakamol and Thoungthongkam who begin their campaign against Croatia’s Durkinjak and Poznanovic, the world number 58. The other match in the section is between Wong and Chau of Hong Kong, the world number 62 against the world number 52 pairing of Sam and Chloe Magee.

Poland’s Mateusiak and Kostiuczyk are seeded 3 for the event and have a tough opening match in the second round against the world number 27 duo of Triyachart and Yao of Singapore. This section will clearly be one of the toughest to progress through as the 9^th seeded Diju V and Jwala Gutta take on the world number 21 pairing of Adcock and White of England. The final match of the section sees Chan and Goh of Malaysia take on the Belgian pair of Gillis and Corvillain.

The 5^th seeded Fischer Nielsen and Pedersen are another high seeding with a tough opening match, against the 23^rd ranked Sorokina and Nikolaenko of Russia in their second round match. The 12^th seeded Ko and Ha from Korea have an easier start than the other seeds in the section, taking on Jacquet and Dumartharay of Switzerland. The first of the French pairings are in this section also, Careme and Choinet take on the Japanese pairing of Hashimoto and Fujii, who are both seeded in their level doubles events and could be a pairing to watch this week.

Lee and Lee are seeded 7 for the event, even thought they have a world ranking of 5. Perhaps there are still concerns of Lee Yong Dae’s injury, but the 7^th seeds take on Larsen and Schjoett-Kristiansen of Denmark, ranked 32^nd in the world and will test the Korean’s credentials in their opening game. The 16^th seeded Lee and Chien have a tough match to start out also, against Russia’s Durkin and Vislova, ranked 31 in the world. The final match in the section sees Wiratama and Tse of Hong Kong take on Vietnam’s Duc and Ham, ranked 112 in the world.

The 4^th seeds are another Indonesia pair in Gunawan and Marissa who begin their campaign against James and Edwards of South Africa, ranked 97^th in the world. The 10^th seeds Jiaming and Yawen take on France’s Rasadi and Labar in one of the weaker sections of the draw, with the final match of the section between world number 25 Ng and Gao against Hirata and Miyuki of Japan, ranked 34 in the world being easily the most competitive match in the section.

The big Chinese hope is in the 6^th seeded He and Yu, who are ranked below Jiamind and Yawen but received a higher seeding. He and Yu begin their campaign against the Spanish pair of Longo and Ojeda. The 13^th seeded Anugrtiayawon and Voravichitchalkul from Thailand take on the German duo of Overzier and Kindervater, ranked 67^th in the world. The final match of the section sees Misha and Svetlana Zilberman of Israel take on Zirnwald and Prustch of Austria.

The final section sees the 2^nd seeded and current World Champions Laybourn and Rytter Juhl take on the Polish pair of Szkudiarczyk and Wojtkowska in the second round after their first round byes. The other seed in the section is the 15^th seeds, Wallwork and Robertson of England who begin their campaign with a first round match against Prus and Atrashchenkov of Ukraine. The final match in the section is between the Bulgarian pair of Makarski and Dimova and Dutch pairing of Khoabux and Barning in an excellent matchup between the world number 36 and 39 in the world.

Mixed Doubles Draw

China's Dominance Almost Certain

The Chinese domination of the 2009 Women’s Doubles looks likely to attempt a double in 2010 with 4 of the top 7 seeds being Chinese, with a new world champion guaranteed also with the 2009 champions with Zhang and Zhao not taking part this year.

The top seeds are the young Chinese pairing of Ma and Jin, much is expected of them after making the semi finals last year and they start their campaign in Round 2 against the American pairing of Wang and Wang, ranked 43^rd in the world. The 11^th seeded Sari and Yao from Singapore also receive a bye into round 2, and they will play the winner of Cooper and Slee of Australia and Ideh and Maria of Nigeria who are both ranked outside the top 100 in the world.

The Korean pair of Ha and Kim are seeded 6 for the championships and begin their run to the final against the world number 72 Swiss pairing of Gruber and Jacquet in round 2. The 16^th seed Gutta and Ponnappa start in round 1 against Barning and Muskens of Holland, before a likely matchup between the winners of the Edwards and Viljoen of South Africa and Ulitina and Voytsekh of the Ukraine.

Last years beaten finalists look to go one better as the 4^th seeded Cheng and Zhao begin with a first round bye before taking on Chang and Chou of Chinese Taipei, the world number 96. They are joined in this section by 14^th seeded Thai pairing of Arronkesorn and Voravichitchaikul who take on the Greek duo of Karkantzia and Ligomenou, ranked 147^th in the world. The other match in the section sees two of Europe’s best pairings go at it for a place in round 2 as Overzier and Marinello of Germany take on Denmark’s Damkjaer and Schjoett-Kristiansen, with both pairings ranked inside the top 30 in the world.

The 5^th seeded Japanese pairing of Miyuki and Suetsuna has a first round bye before taking on the Spanish pairing of Molina and Ojeda, ranked over 100 places lower in the world rankings. The 10^th seeded Bulgarian/Russian partnership of Nedelcheva and Russkikh take on the French pairing of Choinet and Rasidi The final match in the section is between England’s young pairing of Wallwork and White take on Canada’s St. Jacques and Cloutier for a place in round 2.

8^th seeded Koreans Hyun and Jung take on the Canadian pair of Gao and Ko, ranked 53^rd in their opening match after a first round bye, they are joined in their section by one of the top pairings on the EBU Circuit in Sorokina and Vislova who are ranked 12^th for the event. They take on Ukrainian pair Prus and Kobtseva in their opening round match and the final match sees another French pairing of Chanteur and Matias take on Czech duo Basova and Krizkova for a place in round 2.

One of the form pairs of the last month are seeded 3^rd, Chinese Taipei pairing of Cheng and Chien are the duo to look out for after wins in the US and Chinese Taipei in the last month, they begin with a second round match against Hong Kong’s Chan and Chau. The other seed in the section are the 13^th seeds Amitapal and Munkit of Thailand who take on Scotland’s Mason and Bankier who are both coming back from long-term injuries. The other match in the section is between Denmark’s Roepke and Kristiansen and Holland’s Van Dooremalen and Jonathans.

The 7^th seeded Pan and Tian might receive a first round bye, but their second round opponent will be a match for any partnership this season, they take on Korea’s Lee and Lee for a place in Round 3. The 9^th seeded Japanese pairing of Fujii and Kakiiwa are the other seeds in the section and take on Yeh and Yeh of the USA in their opening round match. Also in the section is the world number 25 pairing of Lennartson and Wengberg of Sweden, who take on Australian pair of Veeran and Tang for a place in the second round.

The 2^nd seeds begin their campaign against local pairing Fontaine and Luttmann for a place in round 3 of the competition. The 3^rd Japanese seeded pair of Matsuo and Naito are the 15^th seed for the event and take on the Polish pair of Poczyowiak and Wojtkowska for a place in the second round. The final match in the section sees the Belgian #1 duo of Annys and Corvillain take on Finland’s Rautala and Virta for a place in the second round of this years World Championships.

Women’s Doubles Draw

French Favourite Pi Hongyan

The 48 strong field in the women’s singles is missing one major name, the 2009 World Champion Lu Lan failed to reach the qualification within the Chinese rankings. With only the top four from any country eligible, Lu Lan was the 5^th best ranked Chinese player, yet still the world number 9. Yanjiao Jiang is another casualty of the Chinese dominance in the event, being China’s number 6 and ranked 11 in the world.

Top seed Wang Yihan is given a bye in the first round before taking on the world #32 Porntip Buranaprasertuk of Thailand in the second round, her likely opponent is the 10^th seeded Eriko Hirose. Hirose’s section starts with the 10^th seed taking on Aditi Mutatkar of India, ranked 34^th in the world. The winner of Hirose’s match will take on the winner of Maria Febe Kusumastuti of Indonesia, ranked 32^nd in the world and Russia’s Tatjana Bibik, the world number 47.

Another Chinese player tops the seeding in the second section; Wang Lin of China is the 7^th seed and receives a first round bye before taking on Slovenia’s world number 48, Maja Tvrdy. 12^th seeded Yip Pui Yin is the other seed in the section and takes on local favourite and world number 106 Perrine Lebuhanic. The final match in the section and likely to play Yip Pui Yin in the second round is between Ireland’s Chloe Magee, ranked 69^th in the world and Anna Rice of Canada, world number 42.

Tine Baun (formerly Rasmussen) is the 4^th seed in the draw and the best chance for European success, after a first round bye she takes on Belgium’s world number, Lianne Tan who has failed to live up to her credentials as a junior to date. The second all-European match in the section is between Petya Nedelcheva, the 15^th seed and Judith Meulendijks, the world number 23. This is one of the feature matches of the opening round. The winner of the previous match takes on the winner of Karen Foo Kune, the world number 102 and Larisa Griga, Ukraine’s world number 38.

Juliane Schenk offers European another possibility, the 8^th seed has a first round bye before taking on Lydia Li Ya Cheah of Malaysia, the world number 78. The other seed in the section is the 14^th seeded Bae Sueng Hee of Korea who plays Scotland’s world number 27 Susan Egelstaff in another extremely competitive opening round match. Last weeks winner Cheng Shao Chieh plays Any Nieminen of Finland with the winner taking on the winner of the Bae/Egelstaff match.

Hi Kim Moon is seeded 16 for the event and starts with a match against Portgual’s Telma Santos, the world number 88. The other opening round match in the section is between Michelle Chan Ky of New Zealand and Adrianti Firdasari of Indonesia, the world number 21 and the second highest ranked player not to be seeded.  The highest seed in the section is France’s own Pi Hongyan who takes on Elena Prus of Ukraine, after a first round bye.

The 9^th seeded Zhou Mi is the out of form seed in the competition, without a win in over a year and notorious for early upsets in the bigger events. Bulgaria’s Linda Zechiri, the world number 30 takes on Zhou Mi in round 1. Ai Goto has been in excellent form in recent months, the world number 22 takes on Alesia Zaitsava of Belarus, ranked 93^rd in the world. The 3^rd seeded Wang Xin is the highest seed in the section and after a opening round bye, takes on Canada’s Charmaine Reid, the world number 50.

The fourth of the Chinese seeds, Wang Shixian is the top seed from the seventh section of the draw but faces a tough opening match in the second round against world number 25, Thailand’s Salajkit Ponsana in another of the top matches in the opening round. Czech Kristina Ludikova, ranked 57^th in the world takes on America’s Rena Wang, world number 80 for an opportunity to play the winner of the other match in the section, between Singapore’s Xing Aiying, world number 43 takes on the 11^th seeded Yao Jie of Holland.

Similar to the men’s draw, Wong Mew Choo is ranked higher than one of the seeds in the event but the Malaysian missed out on a seeding. Hi Kim Moon is 20^th in the world and the Wong is ranked 19^th. Her campaign starts against the world number 51, Karin Schnaase of Germany for an opportunity to take on the seeded player in the second round. Ella Diehl is the seed from the top half of the section, with the 13th seed takes on another European tour veteran, Jeanine Cicognini, the world number 37 from Switzerland. The 2^nd seeded Saina Newhal should put all the controversy over seeds to rest as she is the likely finalist from this half of the draw, she begins her week in round 2 with a match over Chen Hsiao Huan, the world number 65.

Womens Singles Draw