KUALA LUMPUR: From suffering severe cramps to reaching his maiden international final on home ground, Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia is just one match away from landing the Malaysia Masters crown.
On Saturday, the world No. 10 men's singles star blew away Hong Kong's Angus Ng 21-15, 21-17 in the semi-finals to set up a mouth-watering showdown with world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
Axelsen, who will also be making his first World Tour final appearance this season, thumped China's Lu Guang Zu 21-6, 21-13 in the earlier last four match.
Zii Jia, who defeated Angus to clinch the Thailand Open crown last week, said he will give his best for as long as he is fit.
"I don't want to think about how the final will be, but as long as I'm fit, I will play in the final.
"For now, I want to head back, compose myself, have a good meal, rest well and come out fresh tomorrow (Sunday)," said Zii Jia, who has now overtaken Angus (5-4) in terms of head-to-head record.
Despite Zii Jia's fiery form and confidence this season, Axelsen will still start the final as favourite, especially given his 6-3 head-to-head record over the Malaysian ace.
In their last encounter at the Thomas Cup (group stage) earlier this month, Axelsen came out tops with a 21-16, 24-22 win.
Axelsen also remains the only European singles player to win the Malaysia Masters crown (2018) since the tournament's inception in 2009.
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
Men's singles: Viktor Axelsen (Den) bt Lu Guang Zu (Chn) 21-6, 21-13; Lee Zii Jia bt Angus Ng (Hkg) 21-15, 21-17.
Men's doubles: Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Den) bt Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King 21-13, 21-19; Jin Yong-Na Sung Seung (Kor) bt He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu (Chn) 21-19, 21-13.
Women's singles: P. V. Sindhu (Ind) bt Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Tha) 13-21, 21-16, 21-12; Wang Zhi Yi (Chn) bt Zhang Yi Man (Chn) 21-9, 21-11.
Women's doubles: Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) bt Gabriela Stoeva-Stefani Stoeva (Bul) 21-14, 21-16; Lee Yu Lim-Shin Seung Chan (Kor) bt Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah 21-16, 21-11.
Mixed doubles: Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai bt Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei 21-11, 21-19; Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas Mentari (Ina) bt Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje (Den) 26-24, 14-21, 21-18.