KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Zii Jia is wary of the threat from Taiwan's Lee Chia Hao as the Malaysian bids to reach his third final in four tournaments at the Australian Open.
Zii Jia set up a semi-final clash with world No. 37 Chia Hao after labouring to a 16-21, 21-12, 21-12 win over Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in 67 minutes at Quaycentre in Sydney today.
Chia Hao upset the form book by stunning his senior compatriot Chou Tien Chen 22-20 22-20 in the other last-eight clash of the day.
A weary Zii Jia was happy to have chalked up his ninth win in 12 meetings against world No. 11 Nishimoto.
"I was just trying to fight for every single point. I tried to keep unforced errors at bay, like I said before, it's about mental game," said Zii Jia.
"I knew it was going to be a very difficult game mainly because we have played each other so many times, and he knows my game so well."
Zii Jia has now reached his second successive last-four stage in as many years in Sydney.
Zii Jia is now vying for his third final and a second title in five weeks, having won the Thailand Open last month. He was also the runner-up at the Malaysia Masters.
Despite the disparity in world ranking, Chia Hao is not a player Zii Jia takes for granted as the Taiwanese had won two of their last three meetings last year.
"I've lost to him twice, he won't be easy to play against," said Zii Jia.
"It would be even tougher now as he's riding on good form after beating his senior, who's the national No. 1 of Taiwan.
"He will be coming into tomorrow's match in high spirits and raring to go."