Like at the end of August in the Super 1000 that he won in Japan, Alex Lanier (world No. 21) will be the only Frenchman at very high altitude this weekend in another benchmark world tournament. Denmark had learned about the precocious Norman phenomenon, U15 European champion at 13, very early on during youth competitions where his talent was already evident.
VIDEO. Danish Open: Alex Lanier knocks out double Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen
He sees him shining again in the light, at a Danish Open where the player from Dives-sur-Mer dominated the country’s star Viktor Axelsen for a set and a half, before his retirement in the quarter-final (21-19, 11 -7), and where only one tricolor – Brice Leverdez in 2016 – had reached the last four.
Friday evening, Alex Lanier delivered quite a bit by defeating the eleventh player in the world at the end of a match with a crazy scenario. Led 13-10 in the decisive round by the Singaporean Loh Kean Yew, after receiving a penalty point for taking too long to breathe on his chair, the Norman found himself at the gates of the semi-finals at 20-18 in his favor, then on the verge of the abyss when saving two match shuttlecocks.
Alex Lanier ???? goes up against Loh Kean Yew ???? for a spot in the semifinals.#BWFWorldTour #DenmarkOpen2024 pic.twitter.com/1QpYklVQCq
— BWF (@bwfmedia) October 19, 2024
He finally concluded the deal with an angry smash and a foul from his opponent (21-18, 15-21, 24-22), before celebrating properly, by taking off his jersey and falling into the arms of his trainer Kestutis Navickas. “Loh is an extremely creative player, quite random in his choices. I needed to constantly adapt, change my strategy almost every two points and become as creative as him, said Alex Lanier afterwards. I was really good at this and I’m quite proud to have kept this quality in all my shots despite these constant changes of tactics and intentions. The red card was too much. Obviously I wasn’t taking my time, but at that moment, I asked to go drink, he told me no and when he was taking a new wheel, I took the opportunity to drink and I took this cardboard. It wasn’t a pleasant moment, but I managed to stay calm. I lost a point for nothing, I’ll have to make up for it. I knew how to make the right choices at the right times, without overplaying but remaining proactive. It made the difference. »
This offers him another opportunity to enter the final of a very famous tournament. To do this, it will be necessary to dominate the Japanese Koki Watanabe (13th). “I played it twice, each time it was very close (one victory each). This is going to be an extremely tough match, he has played two sets less than me so far. The main thing is to rest properly and give everything, with my current weapons. » Whatever the outcome, Alex Lanier is already guaranteed to enter the world top 20 next Monday.
