Barcelona: Viktor Axelsen defeated Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the men’s singles final while Carolina Marin finished runner-up at Spain Masters.
In the Spain Masters finals that was held in Vall d’Hebron Olympic Sports Centre on Sunday, the men’s singles top seed Viktor Axelsen outlasted Thailand’s 18-year-old 3-time World Junior Champion 21-16, 21-13 in 46 minutes to win his first title of the year.
Prior to Sunday’s Spain Masters title, the 26-year-old Axelsen had reached the Malaysia Masters final in January but lost to Kento Momota of Japan.
In the women’s singles final, three-time world champion Carolina Marin, who was the home favorite to win the title, suffered her first defeat to World No. 20 Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-11, 16-21, 18-21 in their six encounters on Sunday.
“Sometimes it’s hard to focus, but I just have to accept it. I know my whole family was supporting me, and my father was listening to the match today,” said Marin after winning her semi-final match on Saturday.
The Spaniard had to rush to emergency room last week to be by her father’s side after an accident at home. Her father remained in the hospital in her home town of Huelva in Southern Spain.
Besides Axelsen, Denmark won another title through No. 4 seeds men’s doubles pair Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen when they beat No. 1 seeds and defending champions Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin of Taiwan 21-17, 21-19.
Meanwhile, both Indonesia and South Korea dominated in women’s doubles and mixed doubles respectively. The No. 1 women’s doubles seeds Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu outlasted No. 3 seeds Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva of Bulgaria 18-21, 22-20, 21-17 in a marathon 96 minutes.
In mixed doubles final, unseeded Kim Sa Rang/Kim Ha Na overcame No. 6 seeds Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue of France 15-21, 21-11, 21-10 in 61 minutes.
