Young Dane stuns Chen to set up final with Momota
SEMI-FINALS SEE TIRED MEN AND WOMEN’S TOP PLAYERS STUMBLE
By Racing & Special Features Writer
Afatigued and tired Chen Long and Carolina Marin, top seeds and number one ranked players in the world, were stunned in the semifinals at the $1 million (Dh3.67 million) Dubai World Superseries Finals at a vibrant Hamdan Sports Complex yesterday.
Competing in his 13th Superseries event of the year, in which he had won five trophies, it was expected to be a straight-forward task for the Chinese superstar when he took on the young Dane Viktor Axelsen, the 2010 world junior champion.
But while Chen constantly struggled to find his rhythm and range, an upset win looked more and more realistic for Axelsen, who readily seized the opportunity with his long arms to prize out a 21-12, 21-17 victory in just 43 minutes.
Axelsen, who played two finals on the tour, will meet second seed and World Number Two Kento Momota in today’s final, with a season-high purse of $88,000 at stake.
“Without doubt, this has to be the biggest win of my career,” said Axelsen, 21. “I’m so happy and satisfied with the way I player and the way I handled things on court in such a big match.
“My preparation was good and I stuck to my game plan. He is the best player in the world with little or no weakness and I realised that I had to keep that out of my mind if I hoped to beat him today.
Turning the tide
“I’ve lost seven times to him in the past and most of the times it was the same story. After winning the opening set he would increase the pressure midway through the second set and just run away with the match,” added the Dane, who enjoys a one -inch height advantage over his famed Chinese rival at six foot three inches.
“This time it was the reverse. I won the first game and tried to force the pace and gain control mid-match and that’s what made all the difference between winning and losing.
“I’ve had a great year and I decided that I might as well finish it on a strong note in Dubai. I’m looking forward to playing the
Vicktor Axelsen (Denmark) bt Chen Long (China) 21-12, 21-17; Kento Momota (Japan) bt Jan O Jorgensen (Denmark) 21-19, 21-18.
Nozomi Okuhara (Japan) bt Carolina Marin (Spain) 21-11, 21-12; Wang Yihan (China) bt Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand) 21-12, 21-12. final and I hope I can reproduce this performance.”
Chen said he was feeling a touch jaded after a long season but admitted that he was beaten by a better player on the day. “My legs felt tired and I most often could not get to the shuttle on time,” he said. “But other than that, no excuses, I just did not play as well as he did. But yes, it’s been a great season and I hope to come back strong next year.”
The women’s final will be contested between Japan’s Nomozi Okuhara, who is beginning to look much taller than five foot one inches given the giant performances she has produced this week and China’s Wang Yihan.
For the second time in less than 24 hours, Okuhara taught Spain’s highly-regarded Marin a thing or two about on court trickery with a 21-11, 21-12 drubbing while Yihan was far too proficient against an out-ofsorts Ratchanok Intanon from Thailand, who was beaten 21-12, 21-12.