Chen Long unseats Viktor Axelsen to clutch spot in pre quarter-finals of 2012 China Masters
Men’s Singles maestro Chen Long proved his authority against Viktor Axelsen and marched into the pre quarter-finals of Li Ning China Masters on Wednesday, September 12, 2012.
However, the World Number three shuttler had to wait for one hour to read favourable margin of 20-22, 21-7 and 21-8.
The Chinese ace had a horrendous start as he struggled to get on the right track in the opening game and lost the first match point.
Chen Long, who is top seeded player of this Super Series, came back from behind and saved some honour by claiming ending two match points.
On the other hand, the Danish campaigner thundered in the opening game but blundered in crucial moments and crashed out of the tournament.
Viktor gathered five consecutive points in the beginning of the first set and established an early advantage. He kept on moving forward and strengthened his grip with a decent total of 11.
Though, he faltered in later part of the game and allowed his rival to gain a respectable lead in 17-15 margin but still he restored his authority and placed a tight yet decisive figure of 22-20.
This unexpected development silenced the local crowd of Changzhou, China as they were expecting the native shuttler to wrap the show in just two segments.
Chen Long switched on his best and blew away his challenger with a staggering knock. This time he established an unassailable lead immediately and finished the second set with a huge difference of 14 points.
In first half of the set, he mounted pressure with 7-2 and then magnified the impact by registering 11-3 total.
Viktor did not have any reply to this intensive attack and he remained busy just returning these masterly crafted strokes. He could not end his bad patch and surrendered after reading 7-21 score on the board.
The decider proved a dead contest as Chen Long outclassed his opponent completely. He bagged the first half with 11-5 and then sealed his victory with a concluding result of 21-8.
Now he will meet Misha Zilberman in the second round and a win will take him into the quarter-finals of this tournament.
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