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BASEL, Switzerland, Aug. 24-- Defending champions Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong of China beat Japan's Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino on Saturday to reach the mixed doubles final of the Badminton World Championships in Basel, Switzerland. Saturday's victory came as their fastest in history as the Chinese couple swept their rivals 21-11, 21-15 in 37 minutes, just one step away from defending their championship. Attention to details was the key to triumph, said Zheng after the match, recalling their widening of the points gap in the middle of the first game when their rivals made some adjustment trying to narrow the gap. Huang attributed her victory to better preparedness and the Japanese couple's little mistakes in a match that was actually, as she described it, nip and tuck. It all depended on who's taking better care of tiny details, she added. Before Saturday, Zheng/Huang had engaged in six matches with Watanabe/Higashino, leading with five wins, and their only loss being the reversal at All England Open last year. Their opponents in Sunday's final will be Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand, who had knocked out another Chinese duo Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping in Saturday's semifinals. Last year's mixed doubles finals saw Zheng/Huang beat their compatriots Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping, who are the expected first and second seeds respectively this year. The two Chinese duos have claimed seven of the nine major World Tour titles played this season. | 
