Japan Open 2023 | Lakshya Sen sails into semis, Satwik/Chirag ousted

Sen defeated Watanabe 21-15 21-19 to advance to the semifinals for the third time in a row after his successes in Canada and the United States. On the other hand, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were beaten by Olympic winners Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lan of Chinese Taipei 15-21, 25-23, and 16-21 despite their valiant efforts.

Sen took an early 5-3 lead before expanding it to 11-7 at the halfway mark. The Indian easily outwitted the Japanese and quickly won the first game with two cross-court returns on either side of the court.

Watanabe attempted to speed up the rallies when the sides switched, but Sen appeared to be in control and increased his lead to 3-2 with a beautiful cross-court drop. Sen's backhand slammed into the net at the end of a 42-shot rally, which Watanabe turned around to lead 5-3 before further solidifying at 7-3.

The Indian, though, orchestrated a comeback by luring his rival to the goal and effectively used drop shots. At 18-17, he quickly reversed the situation by smashing the crosscourt. Sen earned one match point after making two accurate returns on his opponent's backhand.