KUALA LUMPUR: World No 1 Viktor Axelsen retained his Malaysia Open crown today with a comfortable win over Japan's Kodai Naraoka.
The great Dane, who has enjoyed a stunning 2022 season, got off the blocks real quick and raced to a 21-6, 21-15 win in just 40 minutes.
Axelsen, who defeated Japan's former world champion Kento Momota in last year's final, said: "I could see that Naraoka was stiff legged, he's tired after playing so many good matches this week.
"I went in and played a high-paced game, he had to work really hard.
"He's had a fantastic week and is a young player, we will see much of him."
Despite winning eight titles from 12 tournaments last year and a brilliant start to the new season, Axelsen declined to comment much on his rivals.
"I don't have any thoughts on this and I don't want to mention any names because there are so many strong players out there.
"You can't predict who will do well from now on. There is strong competition in the men's singles. I'm just minding my own business, doing what works for me and looking forward to the next tournament," said Axelsen who will play in the India Open this week.
Meanwhile, Naraoka admitted that he was tired from playing in long matches all week, and found it hard to contain Axelsen's power on court.
Last month, the Japanese world No 7 managed to stretch Olympic champion Axelsen to three games at the World Tour Finals in Bangkok.
"Last month it was very different. This week I played many long matches and was really tired. Axelsen's smashes were really powerful and I wasn't able to cope," said the 21-year-old Naraoka.
Axelsen, who is the first European men's singles player to successfully defend the Malaysia Open crown, pocketed US$87,500 (RM380,000) in prize money, while Naraoka settled for US$42,500 (RM184,000).
FINAL RESULTS
Men's singles: Viktor Axelsen (Den) bt Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) 21-6, 21-15.
Doubles: Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto (Ina) bt Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang (Chn) 21-18, 18-21, 21-13.
Women's singles: Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt An Se Young (Kor) 12-21, 21-19, 21-11.
Doubles: Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan (Chn) bt Baek Ha Na-Lee Yu Lim (Kor) 21-16, 21-10.
Mixed doubles: Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong (Chn) bt Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino (Jpn) 21-19, 21-11.