It had been a while since we last had seen Viktor Axelsen on the World Tour. The Dane, who made his last appearance at the India Open in January, had been focusing on training, more recently with a stellar addition to his coaching team that mainly consisted of his father-in-law Henrik “PK” Rohde – none other than the legendary Peter Gade, as announced in November last year.
Axelsen was happy to get started with the newly formed squad. “I have a very strong coaching team with PK and Gade. Gade has a lot of experience. He has been in the same situation himself, and he also has some technical and tactical things I can use.”
So, today at the YONEX German Open we got to see the comeback to the tour of the Dane with Gade debuting in his coaching chair. Standing on the other side of the net was Japan’s Riku Hatano, who is number 47 in the world rankings.
What started as a close clash yet with the Dane leading, changed when towards the end of the first game, Hatano equalised the score to then take the win, 22-20. “I think that I had my chances in the first game. I sort of let it slip a little bit,” Axelsen stated about the difficult first game.
It seemed like we could be in for an upset from the 23-year-old Japanese player, but Axelsen eventually won the second game, 21-16, and closed the match with a deciding win in the third game, 21-9. “My opponent played very well today – good style, good net play, and overall, a very strong opponent.”
Axelsen acknowledges the setback but sees the positives in facing some resistance in his opening match. “It’s the first round, so you have to get used to the conditions and get into your rhythm. It was a very good match to do that.”
Beyond the YONEX German Open, there are more tournaments coming up on European soil in the following weeks, with the YONEX All England as the highlight. “All England is just around the corner so my training has been pretty tough leading up to this. I want to do very well here but I also think that you have to prioritise, and of course the All England is my biggest target,” Axelsen admits. “But I really want to do well in this tournament, and see how far I can go.”
There are crucial points to earn by getting far in this Super 300 tournament, an undeniably attractive incentive, as well as the joy of playing in Mülheim against top players from around the world. It has also served as a great first time with Peter Gade coaching him throughout a match. “It has been a very good experience having him and we are still undefeated. Hopefully we can keep it going for a few more matches,” Axelsen added with a laugh.
The former world number one is now through to the second round, where he will face 2023 World Junior Champion Alwi Farhan. He feels confident about today’s performance and his positive mindset could well push him towards winning the title for the first time in this event. “It was a good start. Good first match, tough opponent, and a good win.”