As expected the men's singles final in the China Masters will be between top seed Chen Long and second seed Lin Dan after both won their semi-final matches in contrasting styles on Saturday.
The Chinese, who made a clean sweep of all the five titles at stake in last year's China Masters, once again showed their might by making it all-China affairs in four finals this year. The odd one out is the men's doubles which will be an all-Korean affair.
Chen Long had to battle for a good 74 minutes before he could subdue a stubborn 12th seed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand 21-15, 19-21, 21-14.
Lin Dan, who was involved in a three-set battle with young compatriot Lu Guangzu in the quarter-finals on Friday, had a much easier match in the semifinals in the 'battle of the Lins' against Lin Guipu.
This time Lin Dan came off with a straight sets victory 21-13, 21-15 win in 40 minutes to stay on course for his fifth China Masters title. He won in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2014 while Chen Long is two-time winner, having won in 2011 and 2012.
The women's singles final will be between top seed Li Xuerui and fifth seed Sun Yu. Xuerui defeated Thai hope Porntip Buranaprasertsuk 21-14, 22-20 in 42 minutes while Sun Yu overcame compatriot Chen Yufei 23-21, 21-14.
The men's doubles final will be an all-Korean affair with world No 1 and top seeds Lee Yong-dae-Yoo Yeon-seong taking on third seeds Kim-Gi-rung-Kim Sa-rang, the Malaysian Open Superseries Premier champions.
The Luo twins – Luo Ying and Luo Yu, the No 1 seeds will do battle with their unseeded compatriots Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan for the title in the women's doubles.
The semi-finals also saw Malaysia's campaign in the China Masters come to an end when sixth seeds Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying were knocked out in the mixed doubles.
The Malaysians who stunned Xu Chen-Ma Jin in the second round in the Malaysian Open failed to repeat their performance against the Chinese No 1 seeds who walked away with a 21-11, 21-11 win in Saturday's semi-finals.
Xu Chen-Ma Jin will take on seventh seeds Zheng Siwei-Chen Qingchen for the title after the latter won 21-17, 21-11 against Japan's Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino.
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
Men's singles
Chen Long (Chn) beat Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (Tha) 21-15, 19-21, 21-14
Lin Dan (Chn) beat Lin Guipu Chn) 21-13, 21-15
Men's doubles
Lee Yong-dae-Yoo Yeon-seong (Kor) beat Huang Kaixiang-Zheng Siwei (Chn) 21-9, 21-11
Kim Gi-jung-Kim Sa-rang (Kor) beat Takeshi Kumura-Keigo Sonoda (Jpn) 15-21, 21-10, 21-17
Women's singles
Li Xuerui (Chn) beat Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (Tha) 21-14, 22-20
Sun Yu (Chn) beat Chen Yufei (Chn) 23-20, 21-14
Women's doubles
Luo Ying-Luo Yu (Chn) beat Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponappa (Ind) 21-11, 21-14
Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan (Chn) beat Huang Dongping-Zhong Qianxin (Chn) 21-13, 3-4 (rtd)
Mixed doubles
Xu Chen-Ma Jin (Chn) beat Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying (Mas) 21-11, 21-11
Zheng Siwei-Chen Qingchen (Chn) beat Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino (Jpn) 21-17, 21-11
