KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen secured his first title of the year by thwarting Lee Zii Jia's hopes of a home soil victory at the Malaysia Masters.
Axelsen demonstrated his dominance with a 21-6, 20-22, 21-13 win in an epic men's singles final lasting 63 minutes at Axiata Arena on Sunday.
This victory marks Axelsen's seventh win out of ten encounters against Zii Jia.
It is Axelsen's second title at the Malaysia Masters and his 29th overall on the World Tour.
This triumph is a significant boost for Axelsen, reinforcing his credentials as a gold medal contender for the Paris Olympics, especially given his struggles earlier this year.
Axelsen has uncharacteristically failed to do well in his first four tournaments of the year, with the semi-final at the Malaysia Open being his best result prior to today's triumph.
For Zii Jia, he can certainly hold his head high as the back-to-back final shows that he's back at his best.
FINAL RESULTS
Men's singles: Viktor Axelsen (Den) bt Lee Zii Jia (Mas) 21-6, 20-22, 21-13;
Men's doubles: Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Den) bt Jin Yong-Na Sung Seung (Kor) 17-21, 21-19, 21-18.
Women's singles: Wang Zhi Yi (Chn) bt P. V. Sindhu (Ind) 16-21, 21-5, 21-16.
Women's doubles: Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) bt Lee Yu Lim-Shin Seung Chan (Kor) 17-21, 21-19, 21-18.
Mixed doubles: Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai bt Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas Mentari (Ina) 21-18, 21-19.