Stubborn defence and nerves that just wouldn't snap even when trailing, unfavourable odds with an Olympic champion at the other end. It pretty much sums up how Lakshya Sen carved his first-ever win over world No 1 Viktor Axelsen - beating him 21-13, 12-21, 22-20. Kidambi Srikanth in 2017 and HS Prannoy last year, are the only other Indians to have wins over Axelsen on their CV.
Sen went into the German Open semi-final on Saturday having never taken a game off the Dane in their four previous encounters. But he'd probably gleaned enough from those losses to draw up a wily checklist ahead of this encounter.
Inside the opening exchanges it was clear Sen was working on the don't-let him-run-away-with-an-early-lead bullet point. Axelsen can be harried when he's not controlling play or being run close. It can tie him in mental knots. Playing with the drift, Sen's downward strokes were ticking, his returns were finding acute angles and he managed to vary the pace sufficiently enough to trouble his opponent. In confirmation of the Indian's plan working, Axelsen missed a net-kill sitter to fall behind 4-9 and sprinted off to change his racket. His regulation cross-courts were finding the tramlines too and he shook his head, his face flushed.
Following the change of ends, Sen struggled from the back of the court. He overran the sidelines and found his shots trickling and falling back on his side of the net. An assured Axelsen gleefully deposited his routine - straight smash followed by cross court - and Sen, playing with a heavily strapped right shoulder, was on all fours on his forehand side. The comeback appeared to be writing itself.
Then came the decider. Sen brought out his one-hop step kill inside the first couple of points, thwacking the shuttle onto an unsuspecting Axelsen. He did another jungle cat leap, racing the diagonal from his backhand side to the front court. Axelsen wasn't quite fazed yet. His steep smashes were still plucking points. But the rein-and-ration-instinct drill has been a fair part of coming of age for Sen. Fancy attacks have learnt to wait their turn. He hung in, through the steep smashes that rained.
Viktor Axelsen ���� and Indian prodigy Lakshya Sen ���� put on a three-game battle in Muelheim an der Ruhr.#BWFWorldTour #GermanOpen2022 pic.twitter.com/8h8zdDtT7d
- BWF (@bwfmedia) March 12, 2022
Even the most assured players can sometimes find an obstinate temperament unsettling. Lakshya picked up a point off a clever drop shot to nudge close 7-8, Axelsen responded with a howler from the middle of the court - an overcooked jump kill that found the net. The Dane was sticking to his expected plan of pushing the Indian to the back of the court and trying to clip his opponent's dangerous net play. He was putting the dog-eared plans into motion, unsuspecting of an opponent who wasn't quite the same since they last met three months ago.
A botched net kill and two misjudged returns that fell plum on the line brought about a seismic shift in the tone of the match, in the Indian's favour. The scores went from 16-11 to 16-13. The Indian was closing in. At the other end, Axelsen threw anxious looks at his coach and appeared to be running out of ideas from the back of the court. His clears were overshooting the backline and net kills and cross courts backfiring. Sen held off on celebration until the final return landed wide.
Over the past few months, Sen's maturity and control have been revelatory. Axelsen, who won seven Tour titles last year, was taken unawares by the level-headed play, which remained collected even when put through the wringer. He is not quite the same guy the world No 1 had invited over for sparring eight months ago. With his World Championship bronze last year, Sen had crossed over from the precocious talent pool. This victory over the Olympic champion firmly places him in the pantheon of his generation's current best.