Kento beats Kenta to lift German Open title, boosting his chances for All-England.
PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Kento Momota of Japan lifted the German Open title with ease to show that he has warmed up nicely ahead of the All-England.
The 24-year-old Momota outplayed compatriot Kenta Nishimoto 21-10, 21-16 in the men’s singles final on Sunday, avenging his firstround defeat to the latter at the Malaysian Masters earlier in January.
Momota’s fifth victory on the World Tour has put him in the right frame of mind for a bid at winning his first singles title at the All-England which starts tomorrow in Birmingham.
He is returning to the tournament after a lapse of two years. He missed the 2017 edition as he was serving a one-year ban for gambling and did not make the cut last year due to his low ranking.
But he has made a superb turnaround in the last 18 months, winning the World Championships in Nanjing last year en route to becoming the world No. 1.
And now, making his fourth appearance, the top seed will be eager to add the All-England crown to his collection.
He reached the quarter-finals in all his three previous appearances.
The rest of the Japanese squad will also be a threat in Birmingham going by their triumph in the men's doubles and women's singles in Germany through Hiroyuki EndoYuta Watanabe and Akane Yamaguchi.
Endo-Watanabe defeated teammates Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda 15-21, 21-11, 21-12 while Yamaguchi prevailed 16-21, 21-14, 25-23 against Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in a thrilling 70-minute battle to extend her head-to-head advantage against the Thai ace to 12-9.
China's Du Yue-Lin Yihui broke the Japanese stranglehold in the women’s doubles when they stunned world No. 2 Ayaka Takahashi-Misaki Matsutomo 22-20, 21-15.
The mixed doubles crown went to South Korea's Seo Seung-jae-Chae Yu-jung as they grabbed their second successive title after triumphing at the Spanish Masters the previous week.