Kuala Lumpur: Viktor Axelsen’s dominance was on show once again on Sunday evening, with the Dane easing to victory against Kento Momota in the Malaysia Open final.
Axelsen put on a relentless display to win in straight sets, with the 28-year-old sealing a one-sided 21-4, 21-7 win to pick up his fifth consecutive title and an incredible winning streak of 32 matches. The previous record for the longest winning streak in men’s singles was held by Lin Dan, with a total of 31 matches.
“I am very satisfied with my performance. I am very happy to meet Kento Momota again in the final. Before the competition, I was expecting a tough challenge from Momota. I played well in the final, and I was able to make him feel uncomfortable,” said Axelsen.
“I was just enjoying the match. There are many good men’s singles players, for example, if I were against Zii Jia, the outcome could go either way,” explained Axelsen.
Axelsen also said that he could pull out of the Malaysia Masters that are scheduled to start next Tuesday.
“I will make a decision tomorrow morning whether to withdraw from the Malaysia Masters. I am really feeling super tired right now,” continued Axelsen.
As for Momota, the former World No. 1 from Japan was playing as if he was at the twilight of his career with no speed, and his killer shots have completely disappeared from his game.
“The drift inside the stadium affected my performance. Of course, Axelsen was stronger than I expected, and I couldn’t do anything about it. Although I lost the final, it’s a good lesson learned and I’ll get ready for the Malaysia Masters next week,” said Momota.
In men’s doubles, the reigning World Champions – Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi of Japan fought for 65 minutes to overcome Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia 24-22, 16-21, 21-9 to clinch their second title of the season.
