Of course, it is annoying for both the sporting value of the tournament and the spectators that Victor Axelsen will not compete at the Danish Championships in badminton in Esbjerg this week, but that certainly does not mean that no sports will be delivered from the very top shelf.
Not least from Axelsen’s biggest domestic rival, Anders Antonsen, who on Friday night was relentless in his semifinal against poor Rasmus Messerschmidt and won 21-7, 21-4.
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It was pure show, and one could not help but feel a little sorry for the good Messerschmidt, who early in the match to his coach complained that he had difficulty seeing the ball.
He also did not get to see what hit him until he was out of the tournament.
Anders Antonsen was impressively focused throughout and showed his opponent so much respect that he never began to take the task lightly.
And it was necessary, the winner explained after the match to TV2 Sport.
– Rasmus is a good player, and I have previously lost to him, so I knew that if I was not completely up, it could be a tiring match, said Anders Antonsen, who not surprisingly felt good playing.
– I was very focused on keeping my legs going because I wanted to try some things off and it worked. I had good speed and played quite flawlessly, you can also see that in the numbers, said Anders Antonsen.
Respect and self-confidence
In the final, the experienced Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus, who defeated last year’s Danish champion, Victor Svendsen, in two sets, 24-22, 21-14.
Vittinghus kept his cool in the first set, even though he had to use a handful of set balls to win the set, and although he has put more effort into his matches than Saturday’s opponent, it was not really the physics that worried him. most before the final.
– If I lose, it will not be because I can not keep up physically, then it will be because he is a better player than me. But I feel that I have some things that can hurt him, said Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus before what must be one of the highlights of the final day on Saturday.
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Time for legends
Another can easily be the final in women’s singles, where twice Line meets each other. Line Christophersen, who in Mia Blichfeldt’s absence is the top seed, only needed two sets to defeat the opponent from last year’s final, Julie Dawall Jakobsen.
And she then meets Line Kjærsfeldt, who had an even easier time winning her semi-final over Frederikke Lund – the figures were 21-7, 21-13. Christophersen is the favorite, Kjærsfeldt is a toxic outsider.
In mixed doubles, the top-seeded pair Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Bøje look like the favorite in Saturday’s final against second-seeded Mathias Thyrri Jørgensen and Amalie Magelund Krogh.
At the end of the editorial, the couples for the finals in men’s doubles and women’s doubles had not yet been found, but no matter who faces each other on Saturday, there will be a guarantee of high class – and plenty of reason to visit Blue Water Dock in Esbjerg.
The finals are played from 14.00.
