PETALING JAYA: Defending champion Rachel Arnold produced a superb display to upset world No. 12 Nele Gilis of Belgium and storm into the quarter-finals of the China Open in Shanghai.
The world No. 22 Rachel hardly put a foot wrong as she sent the fifth seed packing 11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6 to continue her impressive title defence.
Rachel had endured a shaky start to her campaign when she had to come from a game down to overcome Hong Kong’s Tong Tsz Wing 7-11, 11-7, 11-6, 12-10 in the first round on Tuesday.
Last night’s victory was extra special for the Malaysian as it marked her first win over Gilis after five previous defeats.
The breakthrough triumph will serve as a huge morale booster ahead of her quarter-final clash today against top seed Hania El Hammamy of Egypt, the world No. 2 - a player Rachel has yet to beat.
Meanwhile, third seed Amina Orfi of Egypt ended Aira Azman’s fine run with an 11-3, 11-4, 11-6 victory in their second-round encounter.
It was also the end of the road for Malaysia’s top male player Ng Eain Yow, who went down 5-11, 11-13, 6-11 to two-time world junior champion Mohamad Zakaria of Egypt in the second round yesterday.
The world No. 11 Eain Yow had beaten Zakaria at last year’s China Open quarter-finals but lost to the 18-year-old in the Australian Open in March after suffering a leg injury in their second-round clash.
