An eventful quarterfinals day came to a close today at the Swiss Open 2021. Here is how the doubles categories played out.
Despite the strong Asian representation in the category, three of the four mixed doubles pairs advancing to tomorrow’s semifinals are European.
A huge win was recorded by Mathias Christiansen/ Alexandra Bøje who knocked out the number one seeds and Olympic silver medallists, Chan Peng Soon/ Goh Liu Ying.
Despite being unsure about Bøje’s back before the match and finding themselves a game down, they were able to overcome a nervous end to the second game and then surge away with the win, 14-21, 21-19, 21-15.
-It’s pretty emotional. The second game was very important. We believed all the way and had a big lead. We got a bit shaky in the end but thankfully we are standing here as the winners, they said together.
Marcus Ellis/ Lauren Smith in a similar fashion had to come back from one game down to defeat the familiar Germans Mark Lamsfuss/ Isabel Herttrich.
- We know each other so well it's like we are from the same country, said Ellis.
Thom Gicquel/ Delphine Delrue faced the fourth seeds in Goh Soon Huat/ Shevon Jemie Lai. After losing the first game, the French pair were able to channel the performance they delivered in Thailand two months ago, although with a more nervy end. This resulted in a win, 14-21 21-14 21-19.
Mixed doubles semifinals
Marcus Ellis/ Lauren Smith (ENG) vs Mathias Christiansen/ Alexandra Bøje (DEN)
Thom Gicquel/ Delphine Delrue (FRA) vs Tan Kian Meng/ Lai Pei Jing (MAS)
Denmark and Germany score important wins in the men’s doubles
The European Champions, Kim Astrup/ Anders Rasmussen, have been rebuilding their form this week, which culminated in a terrific finish to their quarterfinal against Malaysia’s Low Hang Yee/ Ng Eng Cheong, the pair that dispatched Marcus Ellis/ Chris Langridge.
Winning 21-17 16-21 21-13, the Danish duo agreed that they are getting back to their best after months of struggling for form.
- This really means a lot to us, getting that winning feeling.
Mark Lamsfuss/ Marvin Seidel after taking out the Olympic silver medalists, Goh V Shem/ Tan Wee Kiong, backed this up with another disciplined win, this time over Thai pair Nipitphon Phuangphuapet/ Tanupat Viriyangkura.
Men’s doubles semifinals
Kim Astrup/ Anders Rasmussen (DEN) vs Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/ Chirag Shetty (IND)
Mark Lamsfuss/ Marvin Seidel (GER) vs Aaron Chia/ Soh Wooi Yik (MAS)
The Stoeva sisters march on
The Bulgarian sister duo performed strongly today after some early resistance from Denmark’s Maiken Fruergaard/ Sara Thygesen. They are edging closer to the chance to play for back-to-back titles.
Women’s doubles semifinals
Gabriela Stoeva/ Stefani Stoeva (BUL) vs Jongkolphan Kititharakul/ Rawinda Prajongjai (THA)
Pearly Tan/ Thinaah Muralitharan (MAS) vs Chow Mei Kuan/ Lee Meng Yean (MAS)
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