Spain's Carolina Marin enters China Open final

Reigning Olympic champion shuttler and Rio Olympic gold-medallist Carolina Marin on Saturday advanced to the final of the China Open after securing a hard-fought win over Japan's Sayaka Takahashi.

The Spaniard came from behind to a register a 20-22, 21-13, 21-18 win over Takahashi in a thrilling semifinal that lasted 72 minutes.

In the other semifinal, Taiwan's Tai Tzu-ying defeated China's Chen Yufei 6-21, 21-13, 22-20 in 53 minutes to set up a summit clash with Marin, which will be played on Sunday.

Marin is returning to the court after eight months following a knee surgery in January. She could not participate in the World Championships in Switzerland last month as she failed to recover completely.