He lost to him at the German Open last year and again in the final of the European Championships earlier this year, but third time was the charm for Toma Junior Popov against Alex Lanier.

The two French stars just played their first-round match at the 2025 China Open, ending in a three-game victory for Toma Junior Popov with scores of 22-20, 13-21, 21-17.

The first game was a nerve-wracking affair. It looked like a comfortable win for Popov at 19-12, but eight unanswered points for Lanier gave him a game point. However, Lanier couldn’t close it out, and Popov strung together three points in a row to take it 22-20. The next two games were more one-sided, with Lanier comfortably taking the second and Popov doing the same in the third, each controlling their respective games.

This result means Lanier couldn’t build on his impressive run at last week’s Japan Open, where he reached the final but fell to Shi Yu Qi.

In the next round, Toma Junior Popov will face either Anthony Ginting or Brian Yang, who meet later today.

Many other Europeans have played or are set to play today, and we’ll provide a more comprehensive recap later.