On-form Wee Wern looks good for another title in Australia

KUALA LUMPUR: Unseeded Low Wee Wern is on fire in the Australian Open as she is just one match away from winning her third straight title.

The Malaysian, who won the Malaysian and Tasmanian Opens last month, upset third seed Tong Tsz-Wing of Hong Kong 11-3, 11-5, 11-8 in 30 minutes in the semi-final match in Melbourne yesterday.

In the quarter-finals, Wee Wern defeated Ho Tze-Lok of Hong Kong 11-8, 11-9, 11-7.

Wee Wern will face Hana Ramadan of Egypt in the final.

Hana defeated Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 in the semi-finals.

Wee Wern, who made a remarkable comeback after being out of action for 21 months due to a knee injury to win the two titles, has yet to drop a set in the four matches she played in Australia.

For her efforts in winning two titles, she was named the PSA Woman Player of the Month for July.

The 28-year-old Wee Wern was delighted with her performance.

“This is the first time in my career I won the PSA Woman Player of the Month award for winning back to back titles.

“It is a good morale booster and I look forward to playing another good match in the final tomorrow,” said Wee Wern.

She added that she beat Hana 3-1 in the quarter-finals of the Tasmania Open last month.

“It was a close-fought match and I can expect another tough encounter against the Egyptian.

“I hope to rise to the occasion and beat her for my third title. Winning the Australian Open will further improve my world rankings,” said Wee Wern, who was ranked 254 in the world last month.

She made a huge jump after her victories, moving up 184 places to 70th in the world.

In the men’s competition, Malaysia’s joint third-fourth seed Mohd Syafiq Kamal lost 8-11, 8-11, 5-11 to top seed Rex Hedrick of Australia in the semi-finals.

Hedrick will face third seed Dimitri Steinmann of Switzerland in the final.