Anders Antonsen suffered a painful first-round defeat at the China Open after surrendering a commanding lead and three match points against China’s Weng Hongyang.
The third-seeded Dane lost 21-15, 17-21, 20-22 in a match he appeared to have under control on several occasions.
Antonsen entered the Super 1000 tournament as world number three, while Weng is ranked 15th in the latest men’s singles standings published by Olympics.com.
The defeat therefore represents a significant upset, although Weng is an established player who has previously reached number 10 in the world and won major World Tour titles.
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Eight-point lead disappears
Antonsen made the stronger start and took the opening game 21-15. Weng responded by winning the second 21-17, sending the contest into a deciding game.
The Dane then appeared to have regained control. He raced into a 12-4 lead and remained in front as the match approached its conclusion.
Even after Weng had reduced the deficit, Antonsen created three match points at 20-17. He was unable to convert any of them.
Weng won five successive points, taking the deciding game 22-20 and ending Antonsen’s tournament after just one match. The score and sequence of the final points were also detailed in Flashscore’s match report.
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“The three match points are obviously frustrating, but I think there is a greater disappointment,” Antonsen told TV 2 in comments reported by Ritzau.
“The 12-4 lead is enormous, and that hurts. But we also have to praise Weng Hongyang. It takes nerves of steel to come back like that.”
Painful history repeats itself
The manner of the defeat carried an uncomfortable sense of familiarity for Antonsen.
When the pair met in the quarter-finals of the 2024 China Open, the Dane also led 20-17 in the deciding game. Weng again saved three match points before winning five consecutive rallies to take the game 22-20.
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That comeback ended a four-match losing run against Antonsen, as described by the BWF in its report from the 2024 tournament.
Two years later, Weng has repeated the feat at the same event, this time sending Antonsen out in the opening round.
The result is a serious setback for the Dane at one of the largest events on the World Tour. The China Open carries a prize fund of $2 million and sits at the highest level below the season-ending World Tour Finals, according to the official BWF tournament listing.
For Antonsen, the frustration will come not simply from losing to a dangerous opponent, but from allowing an eight-point lead and three opportunities to finish the match to slip away.
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