It was maybe the flight he was to catch after his final win or just the happy mood he was in, but lee Chong Wei was all up for humour on Sunday.
As he came rushing for a quick media interaction, pointing to his watch in the beginning itself to let the scribes know about his situation, the world No 1 was quickly asked about the second game loss. And, the Malaysian, rather than choosing to go into the technicalities came up with: "I always lose the second game" making all smile at his quick wit.
"I have a flight to catch tonight," he said then. "Everyone expects me to play at Malaysian Open." The tournament starts on Tuesday.
The new father, who obviously dedicated his triumph to his boy, had beaten Kenichi Tago 12 times before the Sunday clash. But as he admitted that "Tago played very well today", he also brushed aside suggestions of the Japanese having improved by leaps and bounds as a player since their meeting in Hong Kong Open last year by saying that "maybe I didn't play that well today." He even promised to keep the 13-0 head-to-head record keep going in his favour.
Juliane Schenk, meanwhile, took going down to someone 12 years her junior in her stride. "When I lost to her in the Olympics, everyone had told me that I lost to a junior, but see how amazing player she has been. She has been in flow since the last 2-3 tournaments," the 30-year-old said. "I was playing well to start with but you have to be patient against Ratchanok. She was better while playing the deciding points." Ratchanok, meanwhile, speaking through an interpreter, was just "happy" to have won.