KUALA LUMPUR: Danish comeback star Anders Antonsen can make it a hat-trick of Malaysia Open titles for his country after smashing his way into the final of the Petronas Malaysia Open on Saturday.
World No. 9 Antonsen was in imperious form in the semi-finals, making short work of Taiwan's Lin Chun Yi 21-16, 21-7, to reach only his second career Super 1000 final since the Indonesia Open in 2019.
Thrilled to start the season in the best possible way, the former European champion in his post-match interview said: "It was one of my best performances in a very long time. I played very well today and am super happy and satisfied with my match.
"It's my first time playing Lin (Chun Yi) and I'm sure we're going to be facing each other many more times after this. He's a dangerous guy with big smashes and has incredible qualities in his game."
Antonsen, who used the whole of last season to stage a strong comeback following an injury plagued 2022, knows he can defend the men's singles title on Sunday for Denmark.
His fellow countryman and world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen won the title twice in a row from 2022.
For the record, apart from Malaysia, only two other countries (China and Indonesia) have won the Malaysia Open men's singles title for three years in a row or more.
"Viktor has been winning the last two years, but yes, the title can be won by a Dane again tomorrow (Sunday).
"I think I'll be the underdog regardless of who I face in the final. I want to go out there and give my absolute best, no pressure at all.
"Most importantly, I want to do everything I can to win the title," added Antonsen, whose last title was the Super 500 Korea Open last year.
Meanwhile, in the late semi-final match, Axelsen played China's world No. 6 Shi Yu Qi.
