Anders Antonsen showed a great tactical ability to win the World Tour Finals against Axelsen, but fortunes were overturned in their revenge match at the All England Open 2021.
Today’s semifinal was almost a carbon copy of their clash in Thailand, with Antonsen winning the first game, playing thoughtful precise shots to make Axelsen twist and turn, and never allowing the reigning champion to settle.
On the faster side, Axelsen’s attack was too sharp for Antonsen, who did not provide much resistance, winning 21-7.
Antonsen, much like he did in Thailand, took the initiative in the decider. However, this time Axelsen was able to get his attack going when he needed it most, winning 21-16 7-21 17-21.
-First game was a good game, the second he played very well, midway through it I decided to go only for the third game. It was hard in the last game, I had a good lead but yet again on the side he won on he played a really good match so credit to Viktor, Antonsen stated.
Antonsen praised Viktor’s defence today, explaining how hard anyone has to work to win points.
-If you want to win attacking points against him you have to hit the lines, that's why I was making a lot of unforced errors.
-It was a pretty crazy match. The drift in the stadium definitely played a part in today's match. In the first game I spent a lot of energy trying to come out pretty explosive but in the second Anders I think tried not to use up too much energy and I managed to sort of win pretty easily and the third game was out of bounds. I can't really explain it right now, Axelsen said.
A dream come true
On being in the final for the third time in-a-row, Axelsen sums up what this means to him.
-It means a lot to me, the All England is one of the biggest tournaments on the tour, it's one of those tournaments that you really want to win. I won it last year and now I have a chance to win it again. It's a dream coming true and I'm really happy about it. I'm expecting another really nice match, it's Lee Zii Jia's first All England final, so it's definitely going to be exciting.
Lee Zii Jia scored a 21-13 21-17 win over Mark Caljouw in his semifinal. He too echoes Axelsen’s words.
-I think everyone in badminton dreams about being at the All England Open and being in the final. I think it is a very big moment for them.