Saina Nehwal targets fifth title of the year at French Open

Paris: Fresh from her maiden Denmark Open title triumph, India ace Saina Nehwal will now look to clinch her fifth title of the year when she starts her campaign in the women's singles at the French Open Super Series here on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old Indian capped her return to court after a two-month break following her bronze medal-winning feat at London Olympics, with a win at Odense last week and now her eyes are trained on the French title.

The world number four has been seeded number one in the event as none of the top three Chinese are participating in the tournament and Saina will surely look to grab the opportunity.

The world number four has been seeded number one in the event as none of the top three Chinese are participating in the tournament.

She starts her campaign against Li Han of China in the opening round of the main draw and is likely to meet seventh seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the quarterfinals.

If she gets across the Thai prodigy, then she is expected to come across fourth seed Juliane Schenk of Germany, whom she beat in the final of Denmark Open, in the last-four stage.

The other top players in the competition are second seed Shixian Wang and Tine Baun -- both of whom lost to Saina in the recent past comprehensively.

Among other Indians, Sourabh Verma will take on Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia, while Ajay Jayaram will face a qualifier in the men's singles competition tomorrow.

In the men's doubles, Tarun Kona and Arun Vishnu will be up against the fourth seeded Korean pair of Ki Jung Kim and Sa Rang Kim, while in the mixed doubles, Tarun and Ashwini Ponnappa will meet Patiphat Chalardchaleam and Savitree Amitrapa of Thailand.

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