Sometimes, all it takes is an hour.

For Christo Popov, that hour came on Monday, during an otherwise quiet acclimatisation session inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Just 60 minutes, just one court. But as it turned out, perhaps the right court.

A day later, Popov ended third seed Anders Antonsen’s KFF Singapore Open 2025 campaign in the first round in straight games, 21-17 21-13. It wasn’t the flashiest performance of his career and Popov doesn’t pretend otherwise.

“This is a tough hall to play so the first round is always tricky for everyone,” he said post-match. “Today wasn’t about high level, it was about adapting and I made less mistakes than Anders.”

Adaptation, that was the theme. In a sport where milliseconds and millimetres often decide the victor, Popov credited the subtle familiarity he gained from that Monday session as key to upsetting one of the tournament’s top contenders.

“Maybe it was my luck that my acclimatisation practice was on this court,” he said. “Maybe I got a better feeling of the court as a result. Knowing about the drift and where to place your shuttle perhaps made a difference.

“I could see some frustration from his side because he couldn’t play the game he wanted. I’m just happy to bring a game solid enough to win.”

The win comes just days after a spirited run to the quarterfinals at the Malaysia Masters, where his on-court belief – bolstered by his European Championships bronze – only grew stronger.

“Last week gave me some court time, which is important for confidence,” he said. “It’s just nice to have my level back. I got five weeks of training before coming to Asia and we can say work was done well.”

That work extended into the men’s doubles later in the evening, when Christo returned to court with elder brother Toma Junior to see off Chen Bo Yang/Liu Yi 19-21 24-22 21-19 in one of the most exciting battles of the day. Toma had also picked up a morning win in the singles – 21-19 21-15 over Yushi Tanaka.

In total, Christo spent 121 minutes on court.

“I had a really good nap this afternoon. That was probably the trick,” he would later joke.

Christo now looks ahead to a second-round clash with H.S. Prannoy – another seasoned competitor.

But if Singapore has taught him anything, it’s that confidence can come from the most unexpected places. Sometimes, it’s born not under the spotlight but under the quiet hum of an empty hall, when no one’s watching and you are just trying to get a feel for the floor beneath your feet and the drift above your head.

And sometimes, that hour is all you need.

→ Results (Day 1)

→ Order of play (Day 2)

WHAT OTHERS SAID

“Very little. Last week we played a domestic tournament so it helped. But it was the first time with Misaki (Matsutomo) in international competition and I was excited.”– Yuta Watanabe when asked how much he had trained with his new partner

“Finally. I’m glad to win the first event back on the (HSBC BWF) World Tour. I had a bit of difficulty with control but the result was good. So I’m satisfied.” – An Se Young, whose last individual tournament was the All England in March

“We were training together this past week and even before that. We kind of know each other’s game in a sense but it was still a tough match for both of us.” – Loh Kean Yew after beating Alex Lanier 21-23 21-17 21-11