Anders Antonsen is through to the quarterfinals of the Denmark Open; Denmark’s top men’s singles player delivered a stellar performance in Odense on Thursday evening.
Jason Gunawan from Hong Kong stood little chance against the in-form player from Aarhus, who lived up to his status as the favorite, winning in straight sets 21-10, 21-12.
The 22-year-old Gunawan is ranked 23rd in the world but is on the rise; as recently as September, he won the China Masters—by far his greatest achievement to date.
On that occasion, he defeated Anders Antonsen in the semifinals, but he came nowhere near repeating that triumph on Danish soil.
Antonsen was well-prepared, taking command of the rallies and forcing Gunawan to scramble to every corner of the court.
The focused Dane had excellent control over the lines, hitting virtually no shots out of bounds.
Consequently, the second-round match proved to be a surprisingly one-sided affair, leaving the home crowd in Odense comfortable thoughout the match.
Only for a brief spell in the middle of the second set did Gunawan appear to have found a winning formula. However, once he closed the gap to 12-13, Antonsen regained control and sealed the match by winning eight consecutive points.
In Friday’s quarterfinal, Antonsen will face an Indonesian opponent, Alvi Farhan, who defeated his fourth-seeded compatriot, Jonatan Christie, on Thursday.
Later on Thursday evening, Rasmus Gemke will also look to advance in the tournament. He faces Ng Ka Long Angus from Hong Kong.