The 18-year-old Frenchman won against the 13th athlete in the world ranking.
Alex Lanier is a rising star and gold medal winner of many recent tournaments, being the last at the ORLEN Polish Open 2023.
Today at the Orleans Masters Badminton 2023 presented by VICTOR, Lanier faced Antonsen and won in three games 21-12, 5-21, 21-10. “He has more experience than me, so he can control the game, but I feel that today I was controlling”, shares Lanier.
Playing on home soil is special, but today the crowd was cheering and supporting the young athlete tirelessly throughout the match and that made it even more exceptional for Lanier: “It’s always really nice to play at home and feel that everyone is supporting you”.
In the second game, Alex Lanier lost 5-21, but the audience made him feel confident enough to perform with excellence in the third: “You feel the positive energy and when you are down during the match, or specifically in the second set: I felt that I was doing bad things, but I don’t want to show that and I want to push myself and be proud of me, but also be proud of the crowd”.
Regarding his expectations for the tournament, Lanier is focused on his own game rather than having a thirsty taste for victory. “It’s about being consistent. Every tournament is good for me to get more experience for the future”, adds the player.
Tomorrow Round of 16 starts at 10:30 (CET) and you can watch it live here.
To check all results, click here.