Orleans Masters: Dominant Show by Lanier
Second seed Alex Lanier bounced back from recent setbacks by defending his title at Orleans Masters 2026.
· BWF STAFF
The world No.10 had fallen in the first round of his last two tournaments, and revealed that his focus on mental toughness paid off as he put in an aggressive performance against compatriot Toma Junior Popov, who was outplayed from start to finish, with Lanier closing it out 21-11 21-13.
“I approached this tournament in a different way,” said Lanier. “I tried to go on court with anger and also this mental toughness I was maybe missing the last few tournaments. I felt I did pretty good. I don’t think Tommy played extremely well but that’s how it is.
“We tried to analyse the last tournaments and we prepared with the mental coach, with my own coach also, to pass that few percentage (points) I was missing. I needed to be more than 100 per cent mentally. To be honest, I just feel better.