Two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen secured his spot in the quarter-finals of the German Open on Thursday with a straight-set victory over Indonesia’s Alwa Farhan.
The Danish badminton star defeated Farhan 21-13, 21-18, in a dominant performance. Axelsen, who struggled in his opening match on Wednesday, looked much sharper in his second-round clash.
Farhan started strong, taking an early 10-9 lead in the first set. However, Axelsen quickly turned the tide, winning eight points in a row to take control at 17-10. Farhan tried to rally in the second set, going up 11-10, but Axelsen responded with five consecutive points, pushing his lead to 15-11. Despite Farhan saving four match points towards the end, Axelsen remained in control and wrapped up the match without any major challenges.
Axelsen’s quarter-final opponent was expected to be his compatriot Rasmus Gemke, but Gemke lost in three sets to Jason Gunawan of Hong Kong. Gemke, ranked 29th in the world, fell 11-21, 21-15, 13-21 to Gunawan, ranked 42nd.
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