The veteran beat the talent, when Chou met Nguyen in the men’s singles second round.

The world number two against the world number 63. On paper there was no doubt who was the favorite in the matchup between Tien Chen Chou, Chinese Taipei, and Irish Nhat Nguyen.

As one of few Asian men’s singles players Chou entered the Denmark Open, and as the second seed – and de facto top seed since the withdraw of Kento Momota – he is one to beat to win the only Super 750 on European soil in 2020.

Tough start for Nguyen
Nhat Nguyen is one of the bigger men’s singles talents in Europe, but in the opening game of the second round match, he did not stand a chance against the ten-year-older veteran.

Chou took the lead from the first rally and won the first game 21-8.

- It is definitely a great learning curve and experience for me. He was always in control, and I was not used to his speed and level. He was consistent and did not make many mistakes, Nguyen said.

One-way traffic
Nguyen won the first point of the second game and up to 8-8 it was equal. From there Chou took control.

With a 21-16 loss in the second game, Nhat Nguyen bows out of the Denmark Open 2020.

- I have to watch the match again to see what the details are, but from what I remember right now is that I was always one or two steps behind

Next up for the Irish is the SaarLorlux Open, where he has a bye in the first round.

Watch the full interview with Nhat Nguyen here