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| Fajar/Rian vs Marcus/Gideon |
Kevin/Marcus fell with a score of 19-21, 26-28 in front of Fajar/Rian. From the course of the match, Kevin/Marcus were actually more dominant in the acquisition of points until the end of the match in the two running games.
But the restlessness when facing the final points allowed Fajar/Rian to peek at the gaps of opportunity and turn them into victory.
Apart from the defeat in the final of the Denmark Open and the fact that Kevin/Marcus still have to continue their title drought, there are positive things that can be learned by the Minions throughout the Danish Open.
At the Denmark Open this time, Kevin/Marcus actually had a fairly tough path. They face Akira Koga/Taichi Saito, Alexander Dunn/Adam Hall, Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin, and 2022 world champion Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik to qualify for the final round.
In a series of appearances leading to the final, Kevin/Marcus managed to escape from critical situations, especially when dueling against Leo/Daniel and Aaron/Soh.
Seeing Kevin/Marcus' performance until finally standing on the second podium, it can be concluded that the Minions are starting to touch the best level of their abilities on the field.
Kevin seemed to move quickly in front of the net and did not allow his opponent to freely control the game. With Kevin appearing fierce in front of the net, the Minions can dominate the flow of attacks in front of the opponent.
Meanwhile, Marcus also has a much better covering power than his appearance in the last few tournaments. The impact of the recovery phase from foot surgery seems to be no longer being felt.
From body weight, Marcus also looks lighter. This is certainly influenced by the pattern of training that has been able to run optimally again, after previously he could not overwork the portion of the exercise because he was still in the recovery period.
Losing to Fajar/Rian in the final, of course, will still bring up a number of corrections in terms of the game. But overall, the gameplay they presented was on the right track as they wanted.
Kevin/Marcus can move quickly and dynamically on the field. The rotation carried out by Kevin and Marcus is also quite satisfying and comfortable to look at.
After an initial nine months with less than encouraging results, the Minions are pressured by circumstances to bounce back in the time remaining in 2022.
Injuries and foot surgery by Marcus have made the Minions' appearance relatively minimal in 2022. It is noted that the Denmark Open 2022 is the sixth tournament they have been in this year.
Even though they are currently in third place in the world, the thing that needs to be focused on the Minions is the ranking announcement list on January 3rd when the player's points are completely derived from tournament results in the past year.
When recording results this year alone, Kevin / Marcus only collected 38,490 points until the Denmark Open ended. With the cancellation of the Hong Kong Open and China Open, it was also a loss for the Minions as they lost their place to earn additional points at the end of the 2022 season.
Therefore Kevin/Marcus must be able to continue the good trend in the next tournament at the French Open next week. With the addition of maximum points, Kevin/Marcus can hope not to sag too far in the ranking announcements early next year.
Although improving the game is the main focus that the Minions should pursue, the BWF rankings should not be ruled out. Kevin/Marcus should not be thrown too far from the BWF rankings, especiallyIn terms of appearance, Fajar/Rian were absolutely
irresistible at the Denmark Open. They could overcome Choi Sol Gyu/Kim Won Ho,
Lu Ching Yao/Yang Po Han, Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi, and Kevin/Marcus all with
straight two-game wins. Fajar/Rian only lost one game at the Denmark Open when
they were forced to win the rubber game against Ruben Jille/Ties van der Lecq
in the first round.
Fajar/Rian always have a way to find victory when they are
pressed by circumstances. This was clearly seen when they faced Ong/Teo and
Kevin/Marcus in the final two rounds towards the championship podium.
In the duel against Kevin/Marcus, Fajar/Rian managed to
repeat the same rhythm in the two games played, often falling behind on the way
to then winning at the end of the fight.
Fajar/Rian's victory at the Denmark Open also confirms that
they are the best men's doubles in the BWF Tour 2022 series. Fajar/Rian can
enter the finals in eight tournaments with four wins, namely the Swiss Open,
Indonesia Masters, Malaysia Masters, and Denmark Open. .
In the race to Guangzhou, aka collecting points towards the
BWF World Tour Finals, Fajar/Rian were in the top position without being
disturbed by the other men's doubles. Fajar/Rian can also compete in the BWF
World Tour Finals as well as open the opportunity to win the championship title
plus get a lot of points in their hands.
This makes Fajar/Rian have the opportunity to sit in the
world number one position at the beginning of next year. If that is realized,
Fajar/Rian means exceeding the target they had previously set, namely standing
in the third position of the world.
Fajar/Rian's slick performance is clearly a good response to
the sub-optimal performances they showed at the beginning of 2022. The
adversity they got could be turned into energy to get up and get back on their
feet to provide answers.
With Fajar/Rian able to have a better BWF ranking than other Indonesian men's doubles early next year, it means that Fajar/Rian will have an early advantage when the Race to Olympics is ready to be held.