Popov Bests Antonsen in Dramatic Finish
Christo Popov saved himself the prospect of having to deal with a nightmare in his singles debut at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals. With six of his seven match points against Anders Antonsen having slipped away – and…
· DEV SUKUMAR
Christo Popov saved himself the prospect of having to deal with a nightmare in his singles debut at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals. With six of his seven match points against Anders Antonsen having slipped away – and having hurt himself in the process – Popov just about squeezed through the escape door in an entertaining Group A encounter.
Until the closing stages of the third game, it had gone well for the Frenchman. Playing a countering style that gave Antonsen little to work with and few outright openings, Popov frustrated the Dane to build a comfortable lead in the third, and was all set to take the match at 20-13.
A few quick rallies, and the pressure started to build as Antonsen ticked off the deficit. At 20-17, attempting to retrieve a shot at the net, Popov had a nasty fall and clutched his left leg in pain. However, he did shake it off and had to hold his nerve with Antonsen just a point away, before he finally captured the winning point to get his campaign off to a memorable start at 21-13 12-21 21-19.