Semifinals day at the Barcelona Spain Masters gave the home favourite Marin a lot to smile about, as she managed to get redemption over Thai player, Supanida Katethong, to secure a spot in the final.
The win over the left-handed Thai player was extra special because they have met once before at the Vietnam Open last year. It was Marin’s comeback tournament after a long injury. That day, in the first round, Katethong defeated the Spaniard in two tight games.
Marin’s win in today’s semifinal, 21-16, 21-16, with the memory of this tough return, had a little extra emotion, as well as of course being a brilliant display in front of the Spanish crowd. Following the match, Marin is focused for more, as she simply wrote on Instagram.
-The last step! What an atmosphere today!
Marin will face another Thai player in the final, sixth seed, Pornpawee Chochuwong.
Feels so good
Danish men’s doubles pair, Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen came through a challenging path on their way to the semifinal, where they faced Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. They are a pair that have defeated them three times in 2019, with the Danes only picking up a single narrow victory at the French Open.
However, today they showed some of their best badminton, keeping their belief to the very end. After winning the opening game 21-16, Astrup and Rasmussen faced two game points for the Malaysians. By sheer determination, they pulled through and converted the game 24-22 to take the match and a spot in the final. After the match, Astrup was thrilled and wrote to his fans on Instagram.
-Great win against Chia/Soh today in straight games - pure emotions. Feels so good to be in a Super 300 final again.
The last time the pair were in a World Tour final, it was the Super 1000 China Open, and they took the title. Tomorrow they will take on reigning champions, Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin, a pair they are yet to take a game from.
More European finalists
Also featuring in the finals tomorrow will be Viktor Axelsen, after his win over Daren Liew, 21-10, 21-19. He will face three-time world junior champion, Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva had a brilliant win over the Thai number two seeds, Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai, 21-14, 16-21, 21-9. They will be up against the number one seeds, Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu in the final.
Lastly, France’s sixth seeds, Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue defeated Chinese Taipei’s Yang Po-Hsuan and Hu Ling Fang, 21-16, 21-13. Waiting for them in the final is the experienced Korean pair of Kim Sa Rang and Kim Ha Na.
For the full results and fixtures, click here.