She also plays doubles and yesterday I came to see her match. I was ready with a plan. She is a very good net player and is good with the dribble. She has a good smash. So, I decided to go more for rallies than quick-finishing smashes,' Saina said.

'I was not feeling tired so that's a good sign. But tomorrow I face a tougher opponent and will have a better idea of my fitness level,' said Saina.

On the pressure of playing in front of home crowd, Saina said that she is not bogged down by expectations.

'I am not feeling any pressure, the crowd was good and it will only help the sport in the country,' she said.

Saina kept herself ahead in the first game and never looked in trouble. She opened up a 6-3 lead and then grabbed four points at 12-8 to race to 16-8. She was in command from 16-10 and took five points in a reel.

The second game was a bit close as Saina's errors allowed Anastasia to nose ahead 7-6. But Saina managed to break free from 13-14 with some deceptive drop shots.

'Because of the drift from one end, the shuttle was coming faster. And on the other side

it's slow. But it's better than it was in the Indian Open when there was more drift,' Saina said.

Kashyap, ranked 33 in the world, surprised Chen in the first game, but then lost his way.

'He was more fitter. We were playing long rallies and I was out of breath. It's not that I was not picking up his shots, but I made some mistakes and he tried to exhaust me.'

Anand, who will meet sixth seed Kuncoro next, said it will be tough.

'I am not happy with the way I played in the second game. I have tighten my game because I am playing Soni whom I have lost in the last World Championship. I have beaten him once in Danish Open,' he said.