Beinwen Zhang caught a bit of a break this week when #4 seed Saina Nehwal of India withdrew from the OUE Singapore Open. Instead of facing one of the top players she got to face someone below her in the world rankings, Aya Ohori of Japan. Zhang took advantage of the matchup and in a competitive match won in straight sets 21-18, 21-17.

She will now face Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong in the second round. The two are very evenly matched and have split their two previous meetings including a Zhang sweep in the Singapore Open last year. Zhang is attempting to reach her first quarterfinal in a Super Series event since reaching back-to-back quarterfinals in October 2014.