MS - Day 3 : Denmark against Japan

2nd round here in Paris. The Men’s singles offered the crowd quite some unexpected events. Top players, Christie and CHOU were defeated, Denmark won the battle against Japan with Axelsen and Antonsen victories and two Chinese legends met on the same court. For sure, the Stade Pierre de Coubertin was the place to be today.

CHRISTIE GOT SCARED

What a match it was! The Indonesian, Jonatan Christie who is also the current world n°7 almost found the exit door of the French Open. Indeed, he was 1 set down, 20-20 in the 2nd. He managed to keep the head off of the water and scored the decisive game after 1 hour and 7 minutes of play. Final score :17-21 22-20 21-15.

WORLD N°2 OUT

Huge match for an early round. Both currently in the 10 top, CHOU Tien Chen and NG Ka Long Angus had to fight hard to get a ticket to the quarterfinals. After a long fight of a hour and 18 minutes, this is the player from Hong Kong who got to be by the winning side. Their opening round match was quite different, CHOU Tien Chen had to fight in three games against the Indian Kidambi, whereas, his opponent only stayed 30min on court yesterday. Today, this detail counted and the player from Hong-Kong is into quarterfinals after defeating the world n°2, 23-25, 21-17, 21-16.

DENMARK 2 - JAPAN 1

The former world n°1, Viktor Axelsen made his appearance in good shape. He showed that pretty well yesterday during his opener against the French, Rouxel. Today, he faced the Japanese Kanta TSUNEYAMA, world n°15. It was maybe not the match he expected but he knows he has to take every match at a time. After scoring the 1st game pretty fast, 21-9, the match took a different turn. His opponent managed to be more precise in his footwork and his shots. The Japanese took the 2nd game 21-11 and brought Viktor to a decisive set. The Dane seemed quite frustrated, failing his net points couple of time. Unlikely for him who likes to share trick shots videos to his fans.

The 2017 world champion had to struggle in the final game. Leading 11-9, the points were quite long and his opponent was still getting everything he had. This is an exhausted Viktor Axelsen that we met at the mixed zone. He mentioned the fact that, the players that went far last week in Denmark has shown some tiredness and that is his case. « I tried to give the extra 100% (in the 3rd game) I definitely felt a little heavy on the legs due to a really good player, so I managed to step up and find the extra energy ». Final score : 21-9, 11-21, 21-15.

At the same time, on court 2, Anders Antonsen was also playing against a Japanese player, Kenta NISHIMOTO. The Dane is known for his calm on court, playing on point at a time. He was led at the beginning of the match even if he was not playing bad! All match was quite close in term of score. In the end, the Dane played better at keys moments. He is into quarterfinals after defeating Kenta NISHIMOTO ,21-19, 21-18.

PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: VITTINGHUS

Another Danish vs Japan fight! The World n°1 faced the Dane Vittinghus who had not passed the first round since the Indonesia Open in July. After his opener, he emphasized that he was really looking forward to playing such an amazing player as Momota, in 2nd round. Willing to give everything he had on court. Today, this is exactly what he did.

Vittinghus certainly played one of the best encounter of his career here in Paris. By staying focus and calm He managed to take the first game, 21-17. Supported by the crowd, the Dane was extremely motivated. During the 2nd, he missed the opportunity to conclude. His didn’t hide his frustration after going to the deciding game (19-21), as he knew it could cost him the match, the same he had almost under control, few minutes earlier! The following points was not what he wanted. Kento Momota was just being himself, which means the best player in the world. The Japanese prevailed after more than a hour of play with a score of 17-21, 21-19, 21-4.

OLYMPIC CHAMPION AGAINST ANOTHER

This is for this kind of encounter that the French audience came. Two true legends fighting for the same spot. Long rallies, amazing technique and huge respect for each other. All this makes a great match. Despite a great fighting spirit from both players. CHEN Long showed that this time, he was better. We have to give credits to Lin DAN who has shown an amazing performance. Close the retirement, we know that if he continues to be in the circuit, it is for this certainly to play this kind of match! His journey ended today and CHEN Long will be playing quarterfinals against the Indonesian Shesar Hiren RHUSTAVIO. Final score : 21-15, 21-16.

NO WORRIES FOR GINTING

The Indonesian had quite an easy draw for his 2nd round here in Paris. He defeated the Chinese HUANG You Xiang in straight 21-11, 21-10. It definitely won’t be the same case for his next match: He has the difficult task to face the unbeatable man, Kento MOMOTA for a spot in semifinals.