Axelsen Ups Ante Against Antonsen – Denmark Open: Day 4
It was billed as one of the most important matches in recent Danish badminton history. While it wasn’t totally one-sided, Viktor Axelsen certainly came out the better against fourth seed Anders Antonsen.
· Lloyd Green
Playing your friend and teammate must not be easy. Not least in front of a packed home stadium in Odense. It seems to change how you play. Sub-consciously there’s a different mindset. More nerves, more expectations, more uncertainty.
That was perhaps the case for Antonsen in this much-hyped quarterfinal against Odense local Axelsen. Axelsen had been in that position before, many times at the DANISA Denmark Open, and on the Olympic stage. But for Antonsen, the occasion seemed a little overawing.
Although starting the better of the two, Antonsen struggled to grasp any advantage that was presented to him. A string of poor decisions on close line calls gave Axelsen easy points – all of which the 22-year-old Antonsen could have got to.