Denmark Open: Saina Nehwal stuns World No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi to enter quarterfinals

Saina Nehwal entered the quarterfinals of the Denmark Open after beating World No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi in the second round on Thursday. Nehwal defeated Yamaguchi 21-15, 21-17 in just 36 minutes.

This is the first win for Saina in seven matches against Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi had won each of her previous six matches against Saina, with four of those wins coming in straight games.

Both Saina and Yamaguchi have won the tournament in the past, with Saina winning in 2012 and Yamaguchi winning in 2016. Saina had lost to yamaguchi in straight games in the quarterfinals last year.

She will next face the winner of the all-Japanese match between Nozomi Okuahara and Saena Kawakami. Saina is one of only two former champions (the other being Ratchanok Intanon) that are still left in the women's singles draw.

PV Sindhu exited the tournament after losing in the first round to USA's Beiwen Zhang.