Liang Jingkun has made it to the last four of the German Open ©ITTF

Top seed Xu Xin has made the men's semi-finals of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) German Open, but had to work hard for it.

The Chinese player faced compatriot Yan An in the quarter-finals in Bremen and started well with an 11-5 win in the first game.

But his opponent hit back to take the second game 14-12 - and Xu was put under immense pressure in the next two, just edging them 11-9, 12-10.

Yan hit back 11-8 to take the score to 3-2, but Xu eventually pulled clear in the final game 11-6.

He will now face South Korea's Jeoung Youngsik, who also had a tough route to the last four.

Home favourite Patrick Franziska had the crowd on his side and was leading 2-1, but his opponent eventually came through 8-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8.

The other semi-final sees Chinese Liang Jingkun up against Fan Zhendong.

Liang was cruising against Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan in his quarter-final, racing to a three-game lead.

But Harimoto hit back to take the next two, before Liang finally got over the line to win 12-10, 11-8, 11-6, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8.

It was a much easier passage for Fan, as he disposed of Germany's Timo Boll in five games, 14-12, 4-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8.


In the women's competition, Singapore's Feng Tianwei continued her remarkable run, having beaten world number one and top seed Chen Meng in the previous round. 

Her quarter-final with Germany's Shan Xiaona was one of the matches of the tournament. 

Shan looked in complete control, taking a 3-0 advantage and going deep into the fourth game. 

However, Feng somehow dug out a match-saving victory in the fourth and went on to pull off a remarkable triumph, 6-11, 6-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-5, 11-2.

She now plays Mima Ito of Japan in the last four, who enjoyed a comprehensive victory over Yang Xiaoxin of Mongolia, 11-7, 2-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-1. 

The other semi-final will be contested by Chinese compatriots Wang Yidi and Sun Yingsha. 

Wang was also involved in a classic contest, just holding off Wang Manyu in a five-set thriller. 

It was a topsy-turvy encounter, before an exhausting final game - Wang Yidi was eventually triumphant 6-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 13-11. 

Sun Yingsha's path was much more straightforward, defeating Chen Xingtong 12-10, 11-8, 2-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-6.

The semi-finals and finals at ÖVB Arena are tomorrow.