Taiwan’s World No. 2 Chou Tien-chen on Saturday crashed out of the men’s semi-finals at the Danisa Denmark Open, losing two straight games to World No. 3 Anders Antonsen of Denmark.
The second-seeded Chou started off mixing defense and attack effectively, covering the court to hit some impressive angles, but began to fall apart in the second half of the first game, when the third-seeded Antonsen found his form.
The Dane did well playing backhand defense, while also bringing himself to play earlier at the net, forcing Chou to make errors.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Taiwanese shuttler showed some superb net play, delivering hard smashes going for the right hip of his opponent, giving Antonsen only split seconds to decide whether to play forehand defense or continue with the backhand, albeit awkward either way.
However, it was Antonsen’s sheer energy that showed he was ready to pounce early at the net every time, forcing Chou into making errors and giving the first game 17-21 to the Dane.
Chou seemed to lose his confidence in the second game as Antonsen dominated the net, hiking the score to 9-15, just six points away from wrapping up the match.
Although Chou tried to put up a fight, it proved futile against Antonsen’s clever play, which interchanged between body and angle smashes.
Chou eventually lost the match 15-21 in the second game.
The loss brought the pair’s head-to-head record to 7-2, with the Taiwanese ace still in the lead.
Chou’s defeat means that the men’s final this year would be an all-Danish affair, with Antonsen yesterday facing seventh-seeded, world No. 17 Rasmus Gemke.
Spearheading Taiwan’s campaign in the tournament, Chou had defeated Victor Svendsen of Denmark 21-16, 21-11; Nhat Nguyen of Ireland 21-18, 21-16; and Srikanth Kidambi of India 20-22, 21-13, 21-16.
The Badminton World Federation World Tour Super 750 Danisa Denmark Open, held from Tuesday last week to yesterday at the Odense Sports Park, carried a total purse of US$750,000.
The Denmark Open marked the return of international badminton after nearly all international tournaments were canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After letting another big lead slip with an error-strewn performance at the French Open on Wednesday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka felt like getting as far away from the courts as possible. “Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after wasting a lead of a set and two breaks in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss to Diana Shnaider in the women’s singles quarter-finals. “We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.” Sabalenka’s wait for a first French Open title continues despite the four-time major winner leading 4-1 in the second set and being two points from victory while
BIG NAMES GONE: Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title, reaching semi-finals for the fifth time in six years and finishing second on three occasions Alexander Zverev on Tuesday breezed past Rafael Jodar to stay on course for an elusive Grand Slam title at the French Open, while Jakub Mensik halted Joao Fonseca’s scintillating run in the quarter-finals. Zverev, the highest-ranked player left in the men’s draw, put an end to Spanish teenager Jodar’s impressive Roland Garros debut, easing into the semi-finals with a 7-6, (7/3), 6-1, 6-3 win. The 29-year-old Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title. He has finished runner-up on three occasions, including at the 2024 French Open. “I want to win the matches that are ahead of
Liverpool are in advanced talks with former AFC Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola as they seek a replacement for Arne Slot, reports said on Tuesday. Iraola has emerged as Liverpool’s top target to replace Slot, who was sacked on Saturday last week after a turbulent second season in charge. Liverpool have reportedly agreed a deal in principle to bring the Spaniard, who left Bournemouth at the end of this season, to Anfield. Sporting director Richard Hughes was heavily involved in hiring Iraola during his time at Bournemouth and is again spearheading the recruitment of the highly rated coach. The Reds are
KNICKS TAKE LEAD: San Antonio put on a 9-0 run to be up 95-94 with just over 2 minutes to play, but the rest of the game belonged to the New York Knicks It was past five minutes through the third quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday and the New York Knicks’ 11-game winning streak was in major jeopardy. The Knicks missed nine of their first 10 shots in the early part of the period and trailed the San Antonio Spurs by 14 points. They were floundering. Then something crazy happened. The Knicks found new life from an unlikely source: The Spurs. New York rallied to tie the game by the end of the period, gave up the lead briefly late in the fourth quarter, and pulled away late for a 105-95
RSS