Watch, Indonesia Open final highlights: Tai Tzu Ying, red-hot Viktor Axelsen bag singles titles

World No 1 Viktor Axelsen and former world No 1 Tai Tzu Ying produced contrasting performances to clinch the singles titles on Sunday at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta as Indonesia Open Super 1000 came to a close.

Axelsen, who has been in red-hot form for the last year and a half on tour, triumphed in straight sets over underdog Zhao Jun Peng of China on Sunday, clinching the Indonesia Open championship for the second consecutive year.

The Danish ace took the first set at Jakarta’s Istora Senayan Arena on the back of superb defense against his left-handed opponent’s heavy pressure.

Zhao’s aggressive approach would ultimately cost him, leading to several errors in the second and final set as Axelsen took home the title with scores of 21-9 and 21-10.

The Olympic champion came into the match having won the Indonesia Masters Super 500 just last week.

“Today, I just tried to come in there and use my experience. I tried to control the drifts the best way I could. I tried to play at a high pace and it really paid off,” he told reporters after the match.

The women’s singles finals, meanwhile, ended with second-ranked Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan securing victory over China’s unseeded Wang Zhi Yi 21-23, 21-6, 21-15 and giving herself an early birthday gift, as she turns 28 on Monday.

“Wang played with very good ball control. I put the burden on myself because of my own mistakes,” Tai said via an interpreter after the match.

But after dropping the first set, Tai quickly bounced back in the second and dominated the rest of the way.

“I’m very happy that a lot of people cheered me on, as it became my motivation during the match today,” she said.

Wei-Quiong win mixed doubles

Second seeded pair from China Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong beat third seeds from Japan, Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino in a final between two Tokyo Olympic medal winning teams.

Eventually it was the Chinese team, silver medallists from Tokyo, who came up with a 21-14, 21-16 win in 41 minutes.

Battle between unseeded pairs

China’s Yu Chen Liu and Xuan Yi Ou continued on their winning run to come up with a 21-17, 23-21 win over South Korean duo Sol Gyu Choi and Won Ho Kim in 48 minutes.

Both teams were unseeded and overcame top ranked opponents in the earlier rounds to get to the final.

The Chinese duo faced second seeds Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the opening round, but came up with an upset in a tight 21-17, 24-22 win.

Choi and Kim meanwhile faced top seeds Marcus Gideo and Kevin Sukamuljo in the second round, beating the Indonesian pair 21-14, 21-12.

But it was Liu and Ou who came up top in the final, winning the title without dropping a single game.

All-Japan affair

Sixth seeds Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida came from behind to beat compatriots and fourth seeds Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota 18-21, 21-14, 21-17 in a final that lasted 75 minutes.

This was the longest match among the five finals that was played on Sunday, and it started off with Matsuyama-Shida losing their first game in the entire tournament.

But they held their nerve and rallied back to claim the title.

This was the only final at the Indonesia Open that did not feature a player from China.

(With inputs from AFP)