World no.9 Saina Nehwal failed to hold on to her nerves as she faced a 20-22, 11-21 defeat to top ranked Tai Tzu Ying in straight games. The Chinese Taipei player Tai Tzu Ying trailed 20-16 in the opening game with Saina Nehwal the first to reach the game point, however she failed to close the game and conceded points after points to allow Ying take the upper hand and close the game. In the second game, Tai Tzu Ying started from where she left as she began the game clinching two consecutive points. Saina Nehwal, on the other hand, continued to struggle as she went to make unforced error on which Tai Tzu Ying capitalised with ease. Tai Tzu Ying thus leads the head-to-head battle 14-5 to Saina Nehwal.
Later tonight, Kidambi Srikanth will take on World No. 1 Kento Momota in the men's singles quarters and will be looking to avenge his Denmark Open semi-final loss.
Live Updates Between Kidambi Srikanth vs Kento Momota French Open 2018 Badminton Quarter-Finals straight from Paris
21:57 IST: Saina Nehwal has been knocked-out of the French Open 2018! A disappointing end for the World No.9 Saina Nehwal, she loses 20-22, 11-21 in a match that lasted for 36 minutes.
21:55 IST: Match point! Tai Tzu Ying has continued her dominance in the second game, she leads 20-10.
21:52 IST: Back-to-back points for Tai Tzu Ying after the break, she has stretched her lead to 13-6. Looks like there is no way back from the premier Indian shuttler.
21:50 IST: Saina Nehwal stretches to reach the shuttle, but fails. Brilliant wide shot from Tai Tzu Ying, she leads 11-6 at mid-game interval. A healthy five point advantage going into the break!
21:48 IST: Saina Nehwal judges the long shot from Tai Tzu Ying well, it fell just over the line. Saina Nehwal trails 6-8 in the second game.
21:46 IST: Unforced error from Tai Tzu Ying, Saina Nehwal trails 3-5.
21:45 IST: Dominating start from Tai Tzu Ying, looks like she has started from where she left in the first game. The Chinese Taipei player has taken a 5-1 lead now in the second game.
21:43 IST: Tai Tzu Ying opens the serve in the second game, she takes two back-to-back points before Saina Nehwal pulls one back. It has started neck-in-neck. Can we expect a three-game thriller?
21:41 IST: What a comeback! Tai Tzu Ying takes the opening game 22-20 in 20 minutes after Saina Nehwal took the first game point at 20-16, what a thriller of a contest.
21:39 IST: Tai Tzu Ying comes from behind to make it 20-all in the opening game, 2 points required to close the game. Tai Tzu Ying has taken the lead to make it 21-20.
21:38 IST: Saina Nehwal nets it, unforced error. Tai Tzu Ying pulls one back to make it 17-20.
21:37 IST: Game point for Saina Nehwal, 20-16. Chance for her to close the opening game.
21:35 IST: Fifth consecutive point from Tai Tzu Ying, she has set up a comeback in the second game. But Saina Nehwal holds her nerve to pick a point, it's 17-15 in favour of the Indian now.
21:33 IST: Third consecutive point from Tai Tzu Ying, Saina Nehwal's lead has been cut short to 16-13 in the opening game.
21:32 IST: Unforced error from Saina Nehwal, she hits the net. Tai Tzu Ying pulls two back to back points, makes it 12-16.
21:31 IST: Long Rally! Tai Tzu Ying plays the shot well over the line, will only help Saina Nehwal to add her lead, 16-10 in the opening game now.
21:28 IST: Saina Nehwal stretches her lead after mid-game interval, a healthy 6 points lead from the premier Indian shuttler.
21:26 IST: Dramatic lead from Saina Nehwal, she has taken a 11-6 lead going into the mid-game interval over World no.1 Tai Tzu Ying.
21:22 IST: Saina Nehwal has taken a slender 4-2 lead over Tai Tzu Ying in the opening game.
21:10 IST: Rankings: Tai Tzu Ying is world ranked 1 while Saina Nehwal is placed ninth in the women's singles rankings.
21:05 IST: Head-to-head: Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying leads 13-5 to Saina Nehwal.
21:00 IST: Hello and welcome to the live commentary from the French Open 2018 quarter-finals match between Saina Nehwal and Tai Tzu Ying.
In the men's singles event, India's Kidambi Srikanth showed determination to come back from a game down and beat Lee Dong Keun. Srikanth lost the first game 12-21 in 19 minutes. In the second game, Srikanth upped the ante and did not let his opponent settle, maintaining a healthy two-point gap, eventually winning the game 21-16. However, the South Korean wasn't going down easily. In the third game, Srikanth had to fight hard to remain in the tournament. In a closely-contested deciding game, the Indian won 21-18.
