Third time lucky for Anders Antonsen in men’s singles final
On his third trip to the Indonesia Open championship game, Anders Antonsen finally clinched the title by beating Chou Tien Chen 22-20, 21-14.
In a repeat of the 2019 final, the 35-year-old from Chinese Taipei led 15-10 in the opening game and looked set to close it out when he went 20-17 ahead. But the Dane had the better of the net exchanges as he saved two game points before winning a thrilling 40-shot rally to level the match. Chou then misjudged a flick serve before sending a forehand wide as Antonsen drew first blood.
Chou led 6-2 in the second game, but Antonsen gradually wore him down by moving him around the court. There was controversy at 8-8 when the veteran was penalised for his racket making contact with the shuttlecock on the wrong side of the net. Chou could not believe the umpire’s decision, but was told to resume play which he did after a slight delay.
Third seed Antonsen led 11-9 at the mid-game interval, but Chou won the next two points to draw level. Antonsen had luck on his side when he put up his racket at the net and the shuttle rebounded off the shaft onto Chou’s side for a 13-11 lead.
The crowd was behind Chou but, from 15-13, Antonsen won five consecutive points to bring up seven match points. Chou saved the first, but not the second as the 28-year-old secured his first title since November’s China Masters.
Earlier, Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue claimed France’s first ever Super 1000 success by defeating Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran in the mixed doubles final.
Gicquel and Delrue, who were unseeded and almost fell in the first round to Indonesia’s Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja, won 21-16, 21-18 for a third World Tour title and their first in over four years.
Top seeds Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning took the women’s doubles in a hard-fought final against Malaysia’s Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah. They prevailed 23-25, 21-12, 21-19 to secure their first Super 1000 crown of the year after triumph in last month’s Malaysia Open.
There was disappointment for the home crowd at the end of the event as Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae beat Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Istafani 18-21, 21-19, 21-12 in the men’s doubles final.
