Denmark's top badminton player has advanced to the quarterfinals of the China Masters. On Thursday, Anders Antonsen dominated Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in Shenzhen.
The World No. 5 won 21-11, 21-9, thereby avenging his compatriot Rasmus Gemke, who had lost to Nishimoto in the first round.
Nishimoto, ranked 26th in the world, started with plenty of optimism, but a sharp Antonsen outplayed him across the court, proving clearly superior in every aspect of the game.
In the second set, Nishimoto kept pace until the score was 5-6, before Antonsen stepped up the intensity and broke the spirit of his increasingly disheartened opponent.
In the quarterfinals, Antonsen will face either China's Lu Guangzu or—more likely—the 2023 world champion, Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Antonsen last defeated the latter in May following a thrilling final at the Thailand Open.
However, Thursday's Round of 16 matches marked the end of the road for Line Christophersen, who lost in straight sets to South Korea's Kim Ga-eun.
Later on Thursday, the two remaining Danish doubles pairs—Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup, and Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard—will compete for spots in the quarterfinals.