French Open Superseries Semi-Final Highlights: Sindhu Out, Kidambi Srikanth Beats HS Prannoy To Reach Final

India's Kidambi Srikanth came back from a game down to beat compatriot HS Prannoy and advance to the men's singles final of the French Open Superseries on Saturday. The eight seeded Indian won the match 14-21, 21-19, 21-18 in a match that lasted about an hour. Prannoy, who maintained a healthy points gap throughout the match, went down to the skills and class of Srikanth, who salvaged important points at crucial junctures. Earlier, in the women's singles semi-final, PV Sindhu failed to cross her Japanese hurdle as she was knocked out of the French Open Superseries 2017 on Saturday. Sindhu lost her semi-final match 14-21, 9-21 to Akane Yamaguchi of Japan. From the outset, Sindhu looked a bit jaded but despite that, she managed to stay in touch with the Japanese. Both players traded leads for much of the first game but Yamaguchi opened a 17-14 lead to snatch the advantage. The second game was a completely one-sided affair as Yamaguchi took an 11-2 lead at the mid-break and never looked back.

Highlights from French Open Superseries semi-finals

20:50 IST: Thank you for joining us for the live blog of the French Open Superseries semi-final.

20:43 IST: Brilliant display of skills and class from the eight seeded Kidambi Srikanth as he advances to the final by beating his compatriot HS Prannoy 14-21, 21-19, 21-18.

20:41 IST: Srikanth is not giving up! He levels at 18-18.

20:39 IST: This game is surely going down to the wire, Prannoy has maintained a slim two-point lead.

20:37 IST: In the second half of the third game, Prannoy leads Srikanth 15-13.

20:35 IST: Midway through the third game, Prannoy bounces back and takes an 11-10 lead against Srikanth.

20:30 IST:  At the moment both Srikanth and Prannoy are going neck and neck.

20:27 IST: In the third and final game, Srikanth leads Prannoy 4-3.

20:24 IST: Brilliant comeback from the eight seed Srikanth, levels the match by winning the second game 21-19 against HS Prannoy.

20:21 IST: Srikanth is not giving up, he levels at 19-19.

20:19 IST: With a two-point lead at 18-16, Prannoy is slowly edging towards a semi-final victory over Srikanth.

20:17 IST: Prannoy is proving to be a tough opponent for Srikanth, he leads 17-15.

20:16 IST: What a come back from Srikanth, levels the game at 14-14.

20:13 IST: Strong start by Prannoy in the second half of the second game as he has opened up a three points gap.

20:12 IST: Prannoy has made Srikanth fight for every point and has dominated the first half of the second game.

20:11 IST: Midway through the second game, Srikanth trails Prannoy 10-11.

20:05 IST: Srikanth and Prannoy are neck-and-neck in the second game at 8-7. Hardly, anything to separate the two.

19:58 IST: PV Sindhu knocked out, loses 14-21, 9-21 to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi.

19:55 IST: Meanwhile in the men's singles semis, Prannoy seems to be getting the better of his compatriot Kidambi, he leads 18-13.

19:54 IST: Sindhu is clearly struggling against her Japanee opponent, trails 7-17.

19:51 IST: Yamaguchi is running away with the game, she leads the Indian 14-5.

19:50 IST: Midway through the first game, Srikanth leads Prannoy 11-10.

19:49 IST: Midway through the second game, Sindhu trails Yamaguchi 2-11. 18 out of the last 20 points was won by Yamaguchi.

19:46 IST: Kidambi now leads 8-7 against his Indian counterpart.

19:45 IST: Sindhu gets her first point of the second game, trails 1-7.

19:44 IST: In the other game, Prannoy is dominating the first game against Srikanth.

19:43 IST: Sindhu is struggling in the second game as Yamaguchi has opened up a 5-0 lead. 

19:42 IST: Meanwhile, Kidami Srikanth is up against HS Prannoy as the latter has a three points lead. 

19:38 IST: Yamaguchi is running away with the first game as he has a big five points lead.

19:35 IST: Yamaguchi takes an 18-14 lead with four continuous points.

19:31 IST: Powerful smash down the line gives Sindhu a 12-11 lead in the second half of the first game.

19:30 IST: Midway through the first game, Sindhu trails Yamaguchi 10-11.

19:29 IST:  Three continuous points for Yamaguchi as she leads Sindhu 10-9.

19:26 IST: Jump and smash from Yamaguchi, levels the game at 7-7.

19:23 IST: At 4-3, Sindhu takes the lead for the first time in the match.

19:22 IST: Sindhu levels the first game at 3-3. 

19:21 IST: Quick start for the Japanese, takes a 2-0 lead.

19:20 IST: The game begins!  Yamaguchi takes the first point.

19:15 IST: Sindhu and Yamaguchi take the court.

19:08 IST: We are just minutes away from the match. Stay tuned!

19:05 IST: Hello and welcome to the live blog of the match between PV Sindhu and Akane Yamaguchi.

Sindhu was in her element as she used her long reach and court coverage to flummox her opponent and get the better of her with consummate ease. Yufei did not look her best as she was undone by numerous unforced errors.

Sindhu, seeded second, always enjoyed the upper hand in the duel, except for the first 10 points of the opening game where it was the neck-and-neck battle between the duo. But once she surged ahead 12-10, there was no looking back as Sindhu controlled the game from there on with deft drop shots and down the line and cross court smashes to race to an 18-12 lead.