KUALA LUMPUR: Men's pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik have vowed to step up their game ahead of the quarter-final showdown with South Korea's Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae at the French Open in Paris on Friday.
Aaron-Wooi Yik, the fifth seeds, saw off Taiwanese twins Lee Fang Chih-Lee Fang Jen 21-16, 21-18 at Arena Porte de la Chapelle to set up a mouthwatering clash between past and reigning world champions.
While the scoreline looked straightforward against Fang Chih-Fang Jen, Aaron admittef that a lapse of concentration could have cost them.
In the second game, Aaron-Wooi Yik established a commanding 11-6 advantage but allowed the Taiwanese to claw back to draw level at 14-all.
Despite facing a strong challenge, Aaron-Wooi Yik kept their nerves in check to clinch the victory.
"We did quite well in terms of gameplay execution, but we did lose focus midway through the second game," said Aaron.
"There's a lot to improve for the following match."
Wooi Yik said the slow speed of the shuttle in the venue posed a challenge to them, especially in breaking the opponent's defense.
"The shuttle speed is quite slow here, and this suits our opponent's game, which is more defensive," said Wooi Yik.
"But we overcame that by doing well in our first three shots and being able to take control of the game."
Aaron-Wooi Yik will be out to turn the tables on Min Hyuk-Seung Jae after going down to the world No. 2 during the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open in January.
The South Koreans are leading the head-to-head record at 2-1.
Aaron-Wooi Yik are left carrying the nation's challenge on their own following the elimination of their compatriots Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei in the mixed doubles.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun found India's world No. 1 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty too hot to handle, losing 21-13, 21-12, while Tang Jie-Ee Wei went down 21-18, 21-14 to China's Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping for their second straight defeat.
