Hangzhou, China (Reuters): Christo Popov became the first French player to reach the title match at the World Tour Finals where he faces world champion Shi Yuqi on Sunday, while Paris Olympics gold medallist An Se-young set up a women's showpiece clash with holder Wang Zhiyi.
Popov, making his tournament debut as a singles player, overwhelmed Japan's Kodai Naraoka with his speed and power to win 21-19 21-8 in the semi-finals in Hangzhou on Saturday.
"The first game was very important, being very long and winning that made me confident for the second game, and I got more aggressive," Popov said.
"One thought was getting out of the group stage, which would be a huge thing for me. Now I’m into the final, so I'm happy."
Popov is trying to become the third European to clinch the men's singles title after Danes Anders Antonsen and Viktor Axelsen, with the latter winning a record three times.
China's Shi, who is looking to equal Axelsen with a third straight World Tour Finals title, beat Thai world number one Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-16 21-13 in the second semi-final.
In the women's semis, South Korean An took just 38 minutes to beat Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-15 21-12.
Bidding for a second title at the season-ending championships, An came at the world champion with power and pace but Yamaguchi repelled the attacks with pinpoint accuracy from the front court.
An's pressure eventually told, however, and she kept Yamaguchi off balance to take the match with quick rallies.
In the second women's semi-final, Wang, 25, dropped the first game to Ratchanok Intanon, who caused the Chinese player all sorts of problems with the variety of her shots.
The Thai defended well on the back court but Wang ticked up the aggression to take the second game.
Wang's superior fitness began to tell in the third as the 30-year-old Ratchanok tired and the Chinese player emerged with a 15-21 21-17 21-11 victory to reach the final.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena and Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford ) -- Reuters
