DUBAI, April 29 (Xinhua) -- World No. 1 Liu Shiwen from China and her teammate Li Xiaoxia entered the semifinals of the 2016 Nakheel Asian Cup here on Friday, as Liu will face Tie Yana from China's Hong Kong while Li will encounter 2016 Asian Cup title defender Feng Tianwei from Singapore, respectively.
Liu Shiwen beat Japan's Mima Ito 3-1 in the quarters. She benefitted from many mistakes Ito did in the first two sets in particular.
Asked by Xinhua why Liu changed the positions to serve from left to center from time to time, Liu said: "This is a part of my tactics to adapt to the opponent as Ito also swapped the serving positions."
Liu stressed that she does not rely on single rigid tactics but on flexible tactics, "This is very important that I adapt to my opponents response, in this particular match Ito's young age (15) played a role in my flexible tactics."
World No. 10 Ito said despite her defeat she did not cry as she considers herself a strong-minded person.
Title defender Feng told Xinhua that she was not sure about her endurance as she needed a long and exhausting 4-2 victory in her quarter final against Hirano Miu. "The Chinese team is very strong so I do not know whether my energy will last until the final. I enjoy to play this tournament," said Feng who was born in Harbin, Heilongjiang province of China, and joined the Singaporean National Team in 2007.
Feng will meet world No. 5 Li Xiaoxia, who beat Jiang Huajun from Hong Kong, China, in the last eight.