MS - Final - Another crowned king, another record for the dragon
The Olympic Champion is fighting for his glory for his country: Denmark. 10 years later, the World Number One is back in Paris and after some hard battles, he finally appeared on the final court, ready to conquer his rival, who is also his Danish national teammate GEMKE (n°16).
Holding a 3/0 firm upper hand, AXELSEN knows his opponent so well. He only let GEMKE gain 3 points at the interval. The front net cross court drop shots were impossible to anticipate for the fearful challenger. The score distance kept growing:14/5 within only 10 minutes’game. Fire back! More full-power jump smashes from GEMKE seemed to take effect. His strategy was clear: High pressure from deep behind and a quick follow-up to block AXELSEN’s movements. He controlled his shuttles close to the net and it did make the tall player uncomfortable. The World Champion left no more chances to his country fellow, 21/14, one round over.
Right after the first game, Rasmus stressed even more on his attacks while he kept playing near the net to await his chances for more body deadly smashes. Viktor had no hesitations: his quick follow-ups plus his dreadful front net pressure made it very complicated to react. Both players speeded up at the second set. GEMKE’s smart deception shot mislead his foe so well and this gained him more time for his come-back game plans. However, he started making mistakes sending the shuttles off line and this was definitely not making his game any easier. 15/10, Viktor’s lucky net shot magically rolled over and one point added to his pocket. The crowd felt the heat and joined the war cheering heartfully for both players.
“I just tried to take control on court and I didn’t think too much about anything else. It was a good game between me and Rasmus today. I’m very happy to have won this game. There are a lot of other tournaments coming so I will just focus on these matches now and when the right time comes, I will make better preparation for 2024 Paris Olympic Games.” Viktor AXELSEN shared with the journalists right after his new title in Paris this year.
