Cheuk Yiu Stuns Axelsen – Hong Kong Open: Day 4
Lee Cheuk Yiu pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year with his straight-games takedown of seventh seed Viktor Axelsen in the quarterfinals of the YONEX-SUNRISE Hong Kong Open 2019 today.
· DEV SUKUMAR
The 21-14 21-19 victory saw him repeat his semifinal performance from last year’s Hong Kong Open. Lee will take on Kidambi Srikanth for a place in the final.
The odds were stacked against the local lad, but Lee came with a plan and executed it to perfection. Nearly all his smashes were within inches of the sidelines; the follow-up to the net was quick and decisive; to keep Axelsen guessing, he frequently mixed his hard hits with softer drop shots.
The Dane somehow never found his element. The first sign that he was rattled came when he made three successive errors for Lee to go 14-9 up. The Hongkonger didn’t let the occasion get to him and he kept his foot on the pedal to take the first game at 14.