The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Haas joins 500-win club
- Chun Seang comes good to join Chong Wei and Daren in last eight
- Veteran Christensen makes sad exit in own backyard
| Posted: 18 Oct 2012 04:10 PM PDT VIENNA: German veteran Tommy Haas celebrated a piece of personal history on Thursday when the former world number two became only the fourth active player to win 500 matches. The 34-year-old Haas, whose career has been plagued by injuries, reached the landmark by beating American Jesse Levine 6-4, 6-2 in the Austrian Open second round. Florida-based Haas, ranked 20 in the world, joins an elite group of active players made up of Roger Federer (871 wins), Rafael Nadal (583) and Lleyton Hewitt (566) to reach the 500-win mark. The all-time leader is Jimmy Connors (1,243 wins) followed by Ivan Lendl (1,071), Guillermo Vilas (923) and John McEnroe (875). "I really want to reach 500 wins, it was a goal for me at the start of the year. To do it means a lot. It's been such a hard road, I had to play some good tennis," said Haas, the champion in Vienna in 2001. "No one gives you anything on the ATP. And to do it here in Vienna where I won the title was spectacular. "You have a lot of goals over the years and I've tried to reach mine. This is something great, because I wasn't really sure I could do it when I was playing last spring. "I feel really fit now and playing good tennis. It really makes me proud, I want to thank my family, my team and those supporting me. This is something I can always look back on." To mark the achievement, Haas was presented on court with a Fiat 500 retro car. |
| Chun Seang comes good to join Chong Wei and Daren in last eight Posted: 18 Oct 2012 04:22 PM PDT ODENSE: A two-year ban from competing in Asian tournaments has not dampened former international shuttler Tan Chun Seang's aspiration to make it big. Yesterday, the 26-year-old professional, who just joined Austria as their assistant national coach, finally flourished in the picturesque city of Odense with his best career win when he upset fourth seed and world No. 5 Simon Santoso 21-14, 21-19 win in 36 minutes. He joins world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei and Liew Daren in what could be described as a memorable day for Malaysia's men's singles department. Malaysia have never had three singles players in the quarter-finals of a Super Series event. But the spotlight truly belonged to southpaw Chun Seang, who squealed in delight after his breakthrough win yesterday. He had never made it past the second round of the Super Series event when he was under Badminton Association of Malaysia's (BAM) banner. BAM, however, banned him in 2010 when he decided to turn pro. The ban limited him to participating in non-Asian countries only. Chun Seang said that as an independent player "I was able to enjoy the game without having to deal with any form of pressure" and is grateful to two parties – his sponsor Apacs and the Austria BA. "I was on the verge of quitting after BAM banned me in 2010. But Apacs came to my rescue and gave me an opportunity to play in Europe and America. Without a sponsor, I would have given up," said Chun Seang. "To live in Europe is expensive. Then Austria's national coach John Dinesen asked me if I wanted to become his assistant. I accepted the offer and now I have a decent income. "The win over Simon makes it even more wonderful." Chun Seang will take on the winner of the match between China's Du Pengyu and Germany's Marc Zwiebler. Asked to rate his chances, he said: "I don't look that far. I hope to do well." It was also a moment of reckoning for Daren when he finally subdued Japan's Sho Sasaki after five long years. Daren's 21-17, 21-14 win was his first over the Japanese in four attempts. "I spent some time analysing Sasaki's match and today I was faster and quicker at the front court," said Daren, who will unfortunately meet Chong Wei next. Top seed Chong Wei made short work of Boonsak Ponsana – winning 21-11, 21-16 in 33 minutes. "I am quite satisfied with my game today. It was just another ordinary day at work for me," said Chong Wei, who, a day earlier had broken the hearts of home fans with a 21-8, 21-18 win over Viktor Axelsen in the opening round. It was also a good day for Malaysia in the doubles department. Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying, however, marched into the quarter-finals of the men's doubles and mixed doubles in contrasting fashions. Kien Keat-Boon Heong did not have to break sweat after being given a walkover by Denmark's Jonas Rasmussen-Joachim Fischer Nielsen following an injury to Nielsen. Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong failed to make the last eight after going down fighting 21-19, 13-21, 17-21 to Japan's Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa. Reigning Japan Open champions Peng Soon-Liu Ying struggled for one hour and three minutes to beat the unheralded Danish pairing of Anders Kristiansen-Julia Houmann 19-21, 22-20, 21-14 and set up a meeting with Indonesia's Mohd Rijal-Debby Susanto. Denmark Open results Men's singles first round: Lee Chong Wei (Mas) bt Viktor Axelsen (Den) 21-8, 21-18; Liew Daren (Mas) bt Rajiv Ouseph (Eng) 21-17, 21-9; Sourabh Varma (Ind) bt Peter-Gade Christensen (Den) 21-18, 21-14; Du Pengyu (Chn) bt Ajay Jayaram (Ind) 19-21, 21-8, 21-9; Simon Santoso (Ina) bt Chong Wei Feng 16-21, 21-17, 21-17; Suppanyu Avihingsanon (Tha) bt Chen Jin (Chn) 11-21, 21-11, 21-15; Marc Zwiebler (Ger) bt Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka (Ina) 21-14, 16-21, 21-8; Kenichi Tago (Jpn) bt Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (Den) 17-21, 21-17, 21-17. Men's singles second round: Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) bt Sourabh Varma (Ind) 21-19, 21-17; Wong Wing Ki (Hkg) bt Suppanyu Avihingsanon (Tha) 21-13, 21-12; Lee Chong Wei (Mas) bt Boonsak Ponsana (Tha) 21-11, 21-16; Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) bt Sourabh Varma (Ind) 21-19, 21-17; Liew Daren (Mas) bt Sho Sasaki (Jpn) 21-17, 21-14; Tan Chun Seang (Mas) bt Simon Santoso (Ina) 21-14, 21-19. Men's doubles first round: Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong bt Ko Sung-hyun-Lee Yong-dae (Kor) 8-21, 21-16, 21-19; Chris Langridge-Peter Mills (Eng) bt Patiphat Chalardchaleam-Nipitphon Puangpuapech (Tha) 21-18, 17-21, 21-11; Hirokatsu Hashimoto-Noriyasu Hirata (Jpn) bt Lukasz Moren-Wojciech Szkudlarczyk (Cze) 21-16, 21-11; Shin Baek-cheol-Yoo Yeon-seong (Kor) bt Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng (Chn) 20-17, rtd; Mohd Ahsan-Bona Septano (Ina) bt Hong Wei-Shen Ye (Chn) 21-14, 21-16; Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa (Ina) bt Jacco Arends-Jelle Maas (Ned) 21-17, 21-17; Michael Fuchs-Oliver Roth (Ger) bt Guo Zhengdong-Xu Chen (Chn) 21-18, 20-22, 21-19; Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen (Den) bt Chris Adcock-Andrew Ellis (Eng) 26-28, 22-20, 21-19. Men's doubles second round: Hirokatsu Hashimoto-Noriyasu Hirata (Jpn) bt Chai Biao-Zhang Nan (Chn) 21-16, 21-16; Shin Baek-cheol-Yoo Yeon-seong (Kor) bt Jorrit De Ruiter-Dave Khodabux (Ned) 21-16, 21-10; Bodin Isara-Maneepong Jongjit (Tha) bt Angga Pratama-Ryan Agung Saputra (Ina) 21-19, 21-13; Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa (Jpn) bt Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong (Mas) 19-21, 21-13, 21-17; Mohd Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan (Ina) bt Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki-Hendra Gunawan (Ina) 21-23, 21-10, 22-20. Women's doubles first round: Qing Tian-Zhao Yunlei (Chn) bt Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty (Mas) 21-13, 21-11. Matches involving Malaysians in other events Mixed doubles second round: Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying (Mas) bt Anders Kristiansen-Julie Houmann (Den) 19-21, 22-20, 21-14. |
| Veteran Christensen makes sad exit in own backyard Posted: 18 Oct 2012 04:21 PM PDT ODENSE: It was a woeful Wednesday indeed for Denmark as their old and new badminton stars – Peter-Gade Christensen and Viktor Axelsen respectively – crashed out in their home tournament in Odense. But world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei preferred to look beyond their defeats, hailing Christensen's decade-long contribution to the sport and strongly believing that Axelsen has all the right credentials to take over the mantle from the veteran. Chong Wei said this after fending off a late fightback from Axelsen to win the first round match 21-8, 21-18 while Christensen went down tamely 18-21, 14-21 to India's Sourabh Varma. Christensen received a standing ovation despite his sad exit at his last Denmark Open as he is quitting in December. Having had the chance to assess the 19-year-old Axelsen's performances of late, Chong Wei feels that Denmark have found a good replacement for Christensen. "Christensen has been a role model and idol for many people around the world. He has contributed greatly to the sport and has done well to give European badminton prominence. He will be missed on the Tour," said Chong Wei, after beating Axelsen for the third time on the international stage. "Denmark will not have to fret about Christensen's departure from the scene because they have Viktor. With more time, I believe Viktor will keep the Danish flag flying high." All that the former world junior champion lacks, according to Chong Wei, is experience. "I see a bright future ahead for the 19-year-old. He has the height, the 'killing' shots and speed. He just lacks experience right now. Give him another two years and he could be leading the pack," said Chong Wei. "Our junior – Zulfadli Zulkifli – possesses the same talent as Viktor ... I hope he too will move up the ladder in the next two years." Last year, Zulfadli defeated Axelsen in the final to emerge as the country's first-ever world junior champion. |
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