Kuala Lumpur: The men’s singles World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and World No. 7 Kodai Naraoka of Japan will be fighting for the 2023 Malaysia Open title when both are set to clash in Sunday’s final at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Axelsen claimed an impressive win over World No. 26 Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan 21-7, 21-15 in 46 minutes on Saturday.
“I am satisfied and very comfortable with how I played,” said Axelsen.
“I am expecting a tough match against Kodai in the final,” added Axelsen.
However, the semi-final victory didn’t come easy for Naraoka. The Japanese player defeated World No. 9 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the longest semi-final match on Saturday which lasted 1 hour and 53 minutes. Naraoka ultimately walked away with a 21-17, 19-21, 21-17 victory.
Highlights of Kodai Naraoka vs. Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the 2023 Malaysia Open semi-finals:
It remained to be seen whether or not Naraoka who has so far played four three-setters since his first-round match, with a total of 362 minutes over four matches, could overcome his exhaustion in the final.
“I am going to eat and take good rest to get ready to face Axelsen in the final,” said Naraoka.
In men’s doubles, World No. 1 Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto were the only representatives from Indonesia to reach the final with a 21-18, 21-17 victory over Kang Min-hyuk/Seo Seung-Jae of Korea in the semi-finals. Alfian/Ardianto will play Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang of China in the final.
The women’s singles final will see Akane Yamaguchi of Japan taking on Korea’s An Se-young in the final, after Yamaguchi defeated Tai Tzu Ying 21-18, 21-16 while An overcame Chen Yu Fei 21-12, 19-21, 21-9.
Meanwhile, Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan will meet Baek Ha Na/Lee Yu Lim in the women’s doubles final while Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong will play their 15th head-to-head battle with Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino in the mixed doubles final on Sunday.
