Tokyo, July 18 -- Home favorites Koki Watanabe and Akane Yamaguchi advanced to the men's and women's singles finals of the Japan Open on Saturday after winning their respective semifinal matches.
In an all-Japan men's singles semifinal, Watanabe edged compatriot Yushi Tanaka 19-21, 23-21, 21-19 in a 79-minute thriller to set up a title clash with France's Christo Popov, who defeated another Japanese player, Kodai Naraoka, 21-14, 21-11.
Third-seeded Yamaguchi rallied from a game down to beat Indonesia's sixth-seeded Putri Kusuma Wardani 9-21, 21-16, 21-14 in the women's singles semifinals. The victory extended Yamaguchi's unbeaten record against Wardani to 8-0 and sent the former world champion into the final.
In the other women's singles...