MALAYSIAN independent mixed doubles pair Jimmy Wong and Lai Pei Jing pulled off a sensational upset at the Macau Open on Saturday, stunning Indonesia’s world No. 19 Amri Syahnawi and Nita Marwah in straight sets to book a place in their first-ever Super 300 final.
World No. 127 Jimmy-Pei Jing, who only teamed up in March this year, displayed remarkable chemistry and composure to defeat the higher-ranked Indonesians 21-18, 21-16 in just 43 minutes at the East Asian Games Dome.
Their run to the final in Macau marks a significant breakthrough for the relatively new pair, who had previously reached three lower-tier finals this year — in Vietnam (March), Phuket (April), and St Denis, Reunion (May) — but fell short of the title each time.
Saturday’s win, however, has reignited hopes for a major title breakthrough.
If the top Malaysian pair and world No. 3 Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei win their semi-final clash against Denmark’s Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje later today, it could set up a historic all-Malaysian showdown in the final.