Viktor Axelsen continues his great run in Indonesia after a match to remember in the Indonesia Open semifinal against Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia. A 70-minute battle with a nail-biting ending.
Lee came the closest to toppling the world number one in the past two weeks, saving four match points in the decider before succumbing 19-21, 21-11, 23-21 to defending champion Axelsen.
The win was the Dane's fifth over Lee in seven meetings.
-Axelsen is enjoying his best form right now, and it's really hard for anybody to beat him, Lee conceded after the match.
Lee's plan almost worked
The Olympic Champion has only lost once in 2022, a narrow three-game marathon against Sen. A physically demanding blueprint that Lee came close to delivering today.
Axelsen cruised through the Indonesia Masters, however, at the Indonesia Open the Dane went to three against Anthony Ginting in the quarterfinals yesterday, and today was pushed all the way to the end.
Axelsen praised the tough challenge and couldn't contain his emotions after clinching the match point, jumping over the advertising boards towards the screaming crowd.
-I was emotional today, to say the least. This is sport, and I want this (win) so much. My feelings are obvious. Today was a really fun game. It was really hard to control, but I'm proud of how I came back, Axelsen stated.