China's Xie Zhongbo/Zhang Yawen defeated Han Sang-Hoon/Lee Hyo-Jung of South Korea 2-1 in the semi-finals of the 2007 Macao Badminton Open mixed doubles here on Saturday.

It took Xie and Zhang merely an hour to clinch the final berth with 21-11, 17-21 and 21-12.

Tieing at 1-1 after the first two games, Xie/Zhang staged a strong assault in the deciding game and led at 10-2, but the deficit was cut down shortly afterward as the South Koreans launched a 6-0 run to make it 12-10.

But the world number four mixed double pair Xie/Zhang again took the lead at 15-12 and went on to wrap up the match 21-12 with a 7-0 run.

"They played very well today." said Xie after the match, "We had a very close second game but a stronger defense in the third helped us win the game."

Xie and Zhang will clash with Fang Chieh-Min/Cheng Wen-Hsing of Chinese Taipei in the finals of mixed doubles on Sunday. The latter beat another Chinese Taipei pair Chen Hong-Ling/Chou Chia-Chi 2-1 in the other semifinal earlier on Saturday.

Copyright © 2007 Chinaview.cn