“I didn’t feel any pressure against Henri today, in fact I think he was more nervous than me. In my second round match I beat Gavnholt which showed real progress for me as he beat me in 2 sets early this season. I’m looking forward to playing Kasper Ispen now tomorrow and for me now every game and every win is a bonus” said a calm Axelsen after his victory.
Hans Kristian Vittinghus, the number 1 seed for the tournament, has little trouble in the opening round against Harry Wright of England with a comfortable 2 set win. In the second round the Dane took the opening set 21-14 against Lester Oey, the round one conqueror of Scott Evans of Ireland, but had to come back from 20-14 down in the second to take the match 22-20 and move into the quarter final to the eagerly awaited match up with Petr Koukal from Czech Republic.
Home eyes were firmly fixed on women’s doubles pair of Lennartsson and Wengberg. The Swedish number 2 seeds had a tricky opening match against the Carlsson sisters but eventually prevailed in 2 sets to keep the Swedish flag flying heading into the quarter finals.
Elsewhere in the women’s doubles top seeded pair of Ropke and Neilsen from Denmark entered the competition with an easy 2 set win over another Swedish pair Bjuner and Hogstrom.
In the men’s doubles the big guns sailed through to the quarters and the tournament still anticipates a final matchup between Hopp and Schottler of Germany and ‘new kids on the European block’ Mads Conrad and Kolding from Denmark after both pairs eased through the preliminaries into tomorrow’s quarter finals.
The draw for the quarter finals of the mixed event is truly a pan European affair with no fewer than 10 countries being represented in the 8 matches. The Irish Magee siblings will be looking to continue their march up the rankings as they continue to improve tournament upon tournament. Others worth noting are the Polish pair of Kurdeleska and Cwlina who have apparently flown under the Swedish radar en route to the quarter finals.
Semi Finals – Danish Wonder Thrills the Crowd
Viktor Axelsen (pictured), the 16 year old wonder kid from Odense, Denmark, continued his unending march to the final of the Swedish International with another 2 set victory in today’s semi final.
The young Dane entered the arena to loud dance music befit of his generation and it was clear from the start that he was enjoying the occasion in front of the large Swedish crowd. His opponent on this occasion was world number 43 Matthieu Lo Ying Ping from France.
The opening set was close as both players gave an exhibition of energetic badminton to the appreciative crowd. On one occasion both players joked with each other over a line call as both players visual appeared to be enjoying themselves on court. It was the Dane, with his never-ending array of shot making, who took the opening set as he left Lo Ying Ping staring at the stars in a vain attempt to find answers.
The second set went the way of Axelsen from the outset as he just steamrolled the Frenchman and never allowed him get a foothold on the set. In the end it became almost an exhibition from the Dane as he showed maturity way beyond his years to take the second set 21-9 to advance to tomorrow’s finals.
In the second semi final Indonesian Indra Bagus Ade Chandra came back from a set down to beat Petr Koukal of Czech Republic. Koukal, who had seen off the challenge of number 1 seed Hans Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark in the quarter final appeared to have everything well under control after a first set win to 14 but a combination of the Indonesian finding another gear and Koukals touch deserting him saw Chandra advance with a 3 set win.
The women’s singles will be without any Scandinavian involvement in the final as both Elizabeth Cann from England and Japan’s Kaori Imabeppu (pictured) kept their title hopes alive with 2 set wins over Rong Bo and Rachel Van Cutsen respectively.
In the men’s doubles the English duo of Middleton and Langridge prevented an all Denmark final as they beat the inform pair on the Circuit Kolding and Conrad. On the adjoining court Skovgaard and Elbjorn advanced in two over Welsh pair Hughes and Lewis.
The final games on court this evening saw Helle Nielsen and Marie Ropke (pictured) justify their number one seeding as they beat Dutch pair Barning and Muskens in a tough 3 sets. Their opponents in Sunday’s final will be the vastly experienced Dutch duo of Van Dooremalen and Jonathans.
Swedish interest ended at semi finals stage as Emelie Lennartsson along with her German partner Tim Dettmann were beaten in straight sets by Mads Pieler Kolding and Britta Andersen as the Danes booked their place in the mixed final against number 3 seeds Atrashchenkov and Prus from the Ukraine.
Click here to see the results from the Swedish International
Article and Images by Mark Phelan