Japan Open: Sensational Day for USA
At the end of a day in which Lauren Lam/Allison Lee had pulled off the sensational upset of third seeds Baek Na Na/Lee So Hee, there was more good news for USA at the DAIHATSU Japan Open 2026.
· DEV SUKUMAR
Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith followed up in the last match with an upset of their own, knocking out world No.16s Daniel Lundgaard/Mads Vestergaard in straight games. For Team USA, it couldn't have been scripted better, with both pairs making the quarterfinals of an HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750 event for the first time.
Lam and Lee were a game and 1-9 down to world No.3s Baek/Lee before staging the turnaround. Chipping away at the deficit and pulling level at 12, the underdogs gained in confidence and had the Koreans under pressure.
The third game was all one-way traffic with Baek and Lee unsure of how to contain the surge of their opponents, and the world No.21 pair came away winners at 9-21 21-18 21-12.