India Open: Pain, Anger, Victory
Far from his physical and mental best, Viktor Axelsen managed to dredge the deep reserves within himself to make the title round of the YONEX-SUNRISE India Open for the sixth time.
· DEV SUKUMAR
Frequently misfiring his smashes, wincing in pain and frustration, and angry at his mistakes, Axelsen appeared at times to be losing the plot against a sharp Jonatan Christie, but the Dane still had enough in the tank to outgun the Indonesian and make the final.
There was plenty of frustration evident as he struggled in the opening game – even earning a warning from the umpire for breaking his racket – and Axelsen acknowledged the lapse.
“First of all, I’m a human being – what you see is what you get. I’m not a robot, sometimes my emotions boil over a little bit, but that’s me, and I’m not proud of breaking the racket, but I’m not a machine and I was really struggling in there today. I felt frustrated because I felt I was playing a good game, but then suddenly everything fell apart and Christie stepped up and I was so frustrated. But I managed to find a way back somehow, I don’t know how, obviously I’m super proud.”