Swedish International Stockholm: Viktor Axelsen knocks out Dieter Domke in Men’s Singles round-of-16
Denmark’s emerging star, Viktor Axelsen, has knocked out Dieter Domke of Germany in the Men’s Singles round-of-16 fight of the 2012 Swedish International Stockholm on Friday, January 20, in Sweden.
The World Number 31 Axelsen, who has been playing tremendous badminton for the last one year, lived up to expectations as he ended the road for Domke, who also played well but not enough to avoid defeat from the hands of higher ranked Danish rival.
Axelsen, who was third seed in Men’s Singles draw of the championship, could not establish lead in the opening half of first set as his rival was playing superb badminton. The lower ranked Domke was focused in the opening half and remained equal until the
break.
After the interval, both players again continued snapping each other’s heel and reached at the concluding phase without creating any gap.
The score was 15-15 when Axelsen lost his focus and committed a few unforced errors and eventually lost the game with a 19-21 score on the board.
However, in the second game, Axelsen entered into court with an aggressive approach as he played attacking badminton and established a comfortable gap of 11-7 until the break in the opening half of the game.
After the break, the higher ranked Danish player extended his lead by playing at his maximum speed. He did not let his German rival to dictate the pace of rallies at any stage in the second game and ended it in a remarkable way by a difference of 21-14.
In the decider, Axelsen continued his phenomenal performance and did not face even a meagre resistance from Domke, who lost his focus and dropped down his speed.
Until the break, the Danish was leading the game in a completely controlled manner by reaching 11-5.
After the break, the third seeded Danish shuttler progressed in the similar fashion and ended the deciding game with a fabulous margin of 21-8. He won this three-set fight in 44 minutes with a 19-21, 21-14 and 21-8 score on the board.
In the quarter-final showdown, Axelsen will lock horns against Ville Lang of Finland, who proved his worth against Denmark’s Flemming Quach in another pre-quarter-final encounter.
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