PETALING JAYA: France’s rising star Alex Lanier (pic) has fired an early warning shot ahead of next month’s Thomas Cup.
The 21-year-old reinforced his spot as France’s No. 2 men’s singles shuttler after clinching the Orleans Masters title on home soil by defeating compatriot Toma Junior Popov in an all-French final on Sunday.
World No. 10 Lanier took just 34 minutes 21-11, 21-13 to beat world No. 16 Toma and defend his title at the Palais des Sports.
Lanier’s dominant display will surely be noticed by other teams ahead of the Thomas Cup Finals in Horsens, Denmark, from April 24-May 3, particularly Indonesia and Thailand, who share Group D with France and Algeria.
Backed by Toma’s younger brother and world No. 5 Christo, France look to be formidable as they have three players in the top 20, which could prove decisive in the team event.
In contrast, Thailand will rely heavily on world No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn, with Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul ranked 29th, while Indonesia’s strength is in world No. 4 Jonatan Christie, but their next best, Alwi Farhan, is 14th.
Based on the rankings, Lanier should have little trouble if slated to meet Panitchaphon, though Alwi could pose a tougher challenge as the pair have two wins each, with Lanier winning their recent clash at the Malaysian Open in January.
Should France make it to the quarter-finals as one of the top two teams in the group, they could meet Malaysia in the knockout stage, and that could not bode well for the Malaysians.
Malaysia will be banking on world No. 23 Leong Jun Hao, No. 38 Justin Hoh and No. 86 Lee Zii Jia, a line-up that lacks the power of the French trio.
Recent poor outings, including a first-round exit at the All-England earlier this month, have fuelled Lanier as he charges on to defend his European Championship gold medal next month in Huelva, Spain.
“I tried to go on court with anger and mental toughness that I was maybe missing in the last few tournaments. I felt I did pretty good,” said Lanier after winning the Orleans Masters.
FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Alex Lanier (Fra) bt Toma Junior Popov (Fra) 21-11, 21-13.
Men’s doubles: Hu Keyuan-Lin Xiangyi (Chn) bt Hiroki Okamura-Kyohei Yamashita (Jpn) 21-19, 21-14.
Women’s singles: Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) bt Pitchamon Opatniputh (Tha) 21-15, 21-15.
Women’s doubles: Sumire Nakade-Miyu Takahashi (Jpn) bt Lin Chih-chun-Yang Chu-yun (Tpe) 22-20, 12-21, 21-18.
Mixed doubles: Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue (Fra) bt Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje (Den) 21-19, 21-13.
