Saina Nehwal vs Beiwen Zhang, Live Badminton Score and Updates, China Open Super Series 2017 Round 1

Later in the day, PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy will be in action.

Prannoy won't be on the court before 5.15pm IST and Sindhu is even later at 6.45pm IST.

We shall be bringing you live coverage of both these matches. Stay tuned.

What a performance that was! Saina didn't even give Zhang any chance to challenge her.

She stamped her class throughout the match! She came, she saw, she conquered!

That's the kind of confidence-boosting performance she needed before a second-round meeting with Akane Yamaguchi, who has accounted for her the last two times they met.

Final score: Nehwal def Zhang, 21-12, 21-13 in 30 minutes to enter the second round.

Saina needs just one to convert.....she takes it, 21-13

And she gets to match points and that too, SEVEN of them! 20-13

The 2014 champion is just two points away from a win...19-13

18-11 is the lead currently for the Indian national champion.

It's all Saina at the moment...she has cruised to 17-9 now

Saina stops her march immediately and adds two points to her kitty...14-9

Once more the American makes an impressive start on resumption. She quickly snatches a couple of points and now trails 9-12.

At half-time, Nehwal has gone up to 11-7.

The three-point advantage still remains....she is up 10-7

But Nehwal knows when to impose herself and she does EXACTLY that! She surges ahead to 8-5.

The former champion went up 4-2 but the American came storming back to level things at 4-4

Zhang seems to be a lot more determined to make a fight out of this.

The second game is much more competitive right now....Saina only marginally ahead at 3-2

SECOND GAME

Zhang bagged the first point but Nehwal soon makes it 1-1

Nehwal grabs the first game, 21-12.

EIGHT GAME POINTS for Saina..20-12

Saina is now 2 points away from grabbing the opener...she is up 19-11

Saina accelerates here and builds a five-point gap once again....she is ahead 15-10

It is getting closer.....Saina now ahead 12-10

The American has reeled off two consecutive points on resumption. Zhang now trails 8-11.

At the break, Nehwal leads 11-6

It is 10-5 for the Indian now

Zhang fighting back and gets a couple of points to trail 4-8

Saina now has a five-point advantage at 7-2

She makes it 5-1

Nehwal has made a great start and has raced off to 3-1

Live coverage under way!

Welcome to the Sportskeeda liveblog of the China Open 2017 first round. Former champion Saina Nehwal opens her campaign against American shuttler, Beiwen Zhang.

While Saina is currently ranked 11th in the world, Zhang is just one place below her at 12th. It is the Indian who leads the head-to-head record 2-0 with both their meetings coming in 2014.

Zhang has of course come a long way since then. She broke into the top 10 in August this year when she reached a career-high 9th.

She won the Dutch Open in October and followed it up with a runner-up finish at the Bitburger Open this month. So, she would definitely like to make it tough for the Indian.

Having said that, it must be mentioned that the Indian herself would be raring to go after the spirited performance she put in at the Senior Nationals. Beating the World No. 2 PV Sindhu gave her a lot of confidence especially after the way she glided all over the court and retrieved the shuttle.

It said a lot about her improved fitness. Saina herself acknowledged after the match that she was feeling more confident about her on-court footwork and it was the key to toppling Sindhu in straight games.

If she can bring forth that same conviction that she showed in Nagpur, she can definitely win this one in straight games. Saina also would like to qualify for the World Superseries Finals and for that to happen, how she fares in Fuzhou is crucial.

So, she would definitely aim to give her very best efforts here.

Saina Nehwal vs Beiwen Zhang, Live Badminton Score and Updates, China Open Super Series 2017 Round 1

Nehwal def Zhang, 21-12, 21-13 to enter the second round.