BEIWEN ZHANG HEADS TO QUARTERFINALS AT DENMARK OPEN, OTHER U.S. ATHLETES IN ACTION

Beiwen Zhang has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Denmark Open where she will face the reigning 2016 Rio Olympic Gold Medalist, Carolina Marin of Spain. The quarterfinal match will be played in the early afternoon on Friday, October 16.

Zhang, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, cruised to victory over her opening-round opponent, Ann-Kathrin Spori of Germany, 21-9, 21-11, in 29 minutes. After the match, Zhang told reporters that she wasn’t in ideal shape, but she’s happy to be back on the court.

“I didn’t really prepare well, but I’m really excited to come back,” said Zhang. “It was like I wasn’t used to it (competition), because we’d stopped for so long. But I missed the court. I couldn’t train hard because I didn’t have a physio, so I had to take time to come back slowly. Compared to earlier, I’m not that strong, but I’m happy I can play. Today I felt my condition was much better than what I expected. I’m excited… when you see friends coming back, you’re touched.”

In her second-round match, Zhang faced much stiffer competition, Evgeniya Kosetskaya of Russia. Zhang lost the opening game, 14-21, and after winning the second game, faced elimination in the third. Zhang trailed 17-18 late in the match but rallied to win and advance to the quarterfinals.

Other Americans in action include Timothy Lam, Iris Wang, and Phillip and Ryan Chew.

Lam battled with Max Weisskirchen of Germany in the opening rounds of the Men’s Singles draw. Lam battled for two games and was tied with Weisskirchen late in both games, but came up just short and lost, 21-19, 22-20.

Wang competed in Women’s Singles and led her opening round opponent, Marie Batomene of France, 20-18 in game one, before ultimately losing, 22-20. The second game was tied early, 9-9, but Batomene took control with seven straight points and eventually won the game, 21-17, and the match.

Phillip and Ryan Chew lost their opening match to the Scottish tandem of Alexander Dunn and Adam Hall, 21-15, 21-11, in the Men’s Doubles draw.

The DANISA Denmark Open 2020 is an HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750 event played at Odense Sports Park in Odense, Denmark. The Tournament started Tuesday, October 13, and will finish on Sunday, October 18.

Results for the matches including American players are below. For full tournament results, CLICK HERE.

MS 
Timothy Lam:
Max Weisskirchen (Germany) def. Timothy Lam 21-19, 22-20

WS
Beiwen Zhang:
Beiwen Zhang def. Ann-Kathrin Spori (Germany) 21-9, 21-11
Beiwen Zhang def. Evgeniya Kosetskaya (Russia) 14-21, 21-12, 21-18
Next match: [6] Beiwen Zhang vs [3] Carolina Marin (Spain)

Iris Wang:
Marie Batomene (France) def. Iris Wang 23-21, 21-17

MD 
Phillip Chew/Ryan Chew:
Alexander Dunn/Adam Hall (Scotland) def. Phillip Chew/Ryan Chew 21-15, 21-11