Clash of titans in Malaysia Open blockbuster [WATCH]

KUALA LUMPUR: Local fans at the Malaysia Open are in for a blockbuster treat when An Se Young and Chen Yu Fei, the two titans of women's singles collide in the semi-finals at Axiata Arena on Saturday — a showdown not seen in Kuala Lumpur since the 2023 edition.

World No. 1 and defending champion Se Young stormed into the last four in ruthless fashion on Friday, brushing aside Denmark's Line Kjærsfeldt 21-8, 21-9 in the quarter-finals.

Standing in her way is world No. 4 Yu Fei, who was equally commanding as she powered past Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon, a two-time Malaysia Open champion, 21-13, 21-14.

Saturday's clash will mark the 29th meeting between the two most recent Olympic champions, with their rivalry finely balanced at 14–14 in the head-to-head.

Yet the numbers alone do not capture the full picture.

Yu Fei, the Tokyo 2020 champion, had initially dominated the rivalry by winning eight of their first nine meetings between 2018 and 2022, before Paris 2024 gold medallist Se Young turned the tide in emphatic fashion.

Since 2023, the Korean star has claimed 13 of their last 19 encounters, reflecting her rise to dominance at the top of the women's game.

Despite that shift, Yu Fei remains one of the few players capable of unsettling Se Young.

Of just four defeats last year — in a staggering 73-4 win-loss record — two were inflicted by Yu Fei, who beat her in the semi-finals of the World Championships in August and again in the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open in May.

The semi-final also presents an opportunity for Yu Fei to halt Se Young's fine momentum from the final quarter of the last season.

The Korean is currently on a 23-match unbeaten run, stretching back to her last defeat — a loss to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi in the Korean Open final in September.

Yet Se Young insists her focus remains internal rather than opponent-driven.

"No matter who I face, I always think the opponent will be difficult," she said.

"Tomorrow, I just need to continue playing the way I want to play and focus on my own game."

She also acknowledged the overall quality of the field still in contention.

"They're all very good," she added. "Everyone plays really well, even in tough situations, so I always feel the need to stay alert and focused."

For Yu Fei, however, the tournament has been more about rediscovering her match sharpness than chasing results.

"For me, my goal in this tournament has always been to rediscover my match rhythm on court," she said.

"Since last played in Europe (in October) last year, I haven't played any international competitions, so it's really about getting back that match condition and feeling.

"I hope this tournament helps me find that again and stabilise it. That's my main objective. As for results, I don't think they are that important — what matters is playing each match in front of me well."

History in Kuala Lumpur, though, slightly favours Se Young.

The pair have met only twice here with the Korean winning both — in the final of the 2022 Malaysia Masters and the semi-finals of the 2023 Malaysia Open.

Still, Yu Fei believes familiarity could once again shape the outcome.

"We really do play each other very often," she said.

"We compete a lot every year, sometimes up to 70 or 80 matches annually, and when you reach the later stages, it's usually the same few players. So naturally, we've become very familiar with each other.

"On that basis, I just hope that every time we play, I'm able to learn something new from the match."

For Yu Fei, a Malaysia Open title would also carry added significance.

It remains one of the few World Tour crowns missing from her collection, having come close in recent years with three semi-final finishes and a runner-up result since 2019.

Yu Fei will also be aiming to restore Chinese dominance at the Malaysia Open, a tournament once ruled by China from the 1980s through to the mid-2010s.

The last Chinese women's singles champion was Li Xuerui in 2014.

Meanwhile, P.V. Sindhu of India has also made it to the last four after her opponent reigning world champion Yamaguchi sustained an apparent foot injury and conceded the match after the first game ended 21-11 to the Indian star favour.