KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen admitted he is braced for a "difficult" battle against a "very strong" Malaysia in Group D of the Thomas Cup Finals which begin on Saturday in Chengdu, China.
On paper, second-seeded Denmark should start as favourites against fifth-seeded Malaysia, but Axelsen believes he and his teammates are in for a tough time.
Denmark are slated to clash with Malaysia in the third and final group match on Tuesday, which could potentially be the top-of-the-table showdown.
The last time the two nations went head-to-head was during the 2018 edition in Bangkok, with Denmark emerging victorious 3-2 to claim the group top spot.
"I have a lot of respect for Malaysian players. Malaysia are a very strong team, I'm very much looking forward to playing against them," Axelsen told Sin Chew Daily in Chengdu.
"The tie will certainly be difficult, but I will focus on preparing the best I can for my own match, while also having faith that my other teammates will perform well in theirs."
Axelsen will be eager to use the Finals as a platform to make a comeback of sorts after struggling to hit his best form of late.
He has yet to win a tournament this year, failing to defend both his titles at the Malaysia Open in January and European Championship a fortnight ago, where he was uncharacteristically shown the exit by a lower-ranked Toma Junior Popov of France.
Therefore, a promising campaign in Chengdu will undoubtedly set things right for him, especially with the Paris Olympics just three months away, where he aims to match Lin Dan's achievement of becoming a back-to-back gold medallist.
Axelsen boasts a strong record in the Finals, which he would love to preserve.
He has not lost a match in his last 10 appearances across the two recent editions in Aarhus 2020 and Bangkok 2022.
Axelsen also excels in his role as team anchor, contributing a total of 18 points from a possible 21 since he began assuming the first singles role in 2016, the year Denmark claimed their maiden title.
He lost only twice to Lee Chong Wei and once to Kento Momota.
