Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino proved too strong for Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai again as the Japanese duo booked their berth in the mixed doubles final of the US$600,000 (approx 20,100,000 baht) French Open on Saturday.
Third seeds Watanabe and Higashino defeated the Thais in the Denmark Open title match a week ago and again denied the top seeds and world No.3 pair with a 21-18, 22-20 victory in the semi-finals of the BWF World Tour Super 750 event at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin in Paris.
Watanabe and Higashino, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists, will play the winners of the second semi-final match between unseeded Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje of Denmark and seventh seeds Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong in today's decider.
Dechapol and Sapsiree had made history early this year after winning three successive tournaments at the Yonex Thailand Open, the Toyota Thailand Open, and the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2020 in January.
Meanwhile, Sayaka Takahashi claimed another upset win to advance to the women's singles title match.
A day after knocking out Thai second seed Ratchanok Intanon, Takahashi, who is unseeded, rallied to stun third seed Pusarla V Sindhu of India 18-21, 21-16, 21-12 in their last-four clash.
She will next meet either top seeded compatriot Akane Yamaguchi or Korean fourth seed An Se-Young in the final.
Yamaguchi claimed the Denmark Open title last Sunday after An's withdrawal due to injury in the deciding third game.
In men's singles, Taiwan's fourth seed Chou Tien-chen advanced to the final after beating Heo Kwang-Hee of South Korea 21-15, 21-17.
He will play the winner of the second semi-final between top seed Kento Momota and Kanta Tsuneyama -- an all-Japanese clash.
In the women's doubles semi-finals, second seeds Kim So-Yeong and Kong Hee-Yong booked their berth in the final. The Koreans defeated fourth seeds Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida of Japan 21-17, 21-19.
Also men's doubles top seeds Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo edged fellow Indonesians and third seeds Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardrianto 21-19, 12-21, 26-24 to progress to the final.
