KUALA LUMPUR: Men's doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik put their strength in serve and return to good use to secure a place in the Denmark Open final on Saturday.
The world No. 4 defeated South Korea's world No. 1 Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae 21-14, 21-18 in the semi-finals at the SJF Bank Arena.
Aaron said their ability to take charge of the opening exchanges was an advantage they needed to keep exploiting.
"Serving and receiving are our strong points as a pair, and we have to use that to our advantage at all times," said Aaron.
The victory also marked another encouraging turn in their rivalry with Won Ho–Seung Jae, after the Koreans defeated them in two three-game matches earlier this year.
The top-ranked Koreans had denied Aaron-Wooi Yik the Malaysian Open and All England titles earlier this year.
The Malaysians have now beaten them in straight games in successive meetings, having also prevailed at the World Championships.
Wooi Yik pointed to improvements in his back-court play and their continuing efforts to sharpen control and shuttle movement, particularly at crucial moments.
He said their decade-long understanding provided a strong foundation, with the focus now on refining the finer details of their game.
"Our partnership has been 10 years. Our combination is good. There are some details where we need to try different things," said Wooi Yik.
Their run to the final has also encouraged them in their first tournament back together after a temporary split.
Aaron said they had rediscovered their enjoyment on court and were playing with less pressure.
"We've been enjoying ourselves more on court. Maybe the pressure is not too much now for us," he said.
Wooi Yik described their return as "a positive sign for us to move forward", with the pair now one win away from the Denmark Open title.
They will face either Indonesia's Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri or China's Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang in the final.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd