Day by day in Nanjing, the cream is rising to the top. And it was the Danes in the doubles who where left licking their lips, after all their pairs went through to the next round today.
Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen lead the way by dispatching a plucky Dutch pair of Jelle Maas and Robin Tabeling in straight games, 21-11, 21-19. At the tail end of the second game, it looked like it may go to a deciding game. However, as we have seen so often with this Danish partnership over the years, their experience in these high-pressure points counts for so much. With a few clever plays, they closed out the match.
Is it their year?
It was great to Boe and Mogensen back on court after some time out this year. They certainly belong on this stage. Although, they return with a different aura about them. Perhaps it’s the new look, with Mogensen rocking a new neck tattoo, or perhaps it’s their laissez-faire yet street-wise approach to the game. Whatever it is, many will be watching with interest to see if it is their year?
Next they play Taiwanese pair Chen Hung-Ling and Wang Chi-Lin in round 3. They know each other well. It’s almost guaranteed to be a close battle. But it will give answers as to the form of the Danish number 3 seeds.
After a great result for Indians Rankireddy and Shetty, knocking about Olympic Bronze medallists Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge, Danish 8th seeds Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen knew they had a tough task on their hands. But they were most definitely up to the challenge as they were focused and energetic on court throughout the match. After over an hour of play, the match ended 21-18, 15-21, 21-16.
Number 6 seeds, Mads Conrad-Petersen and Mads Pieler Kolding faced a tricky Chinese pair so early in the tournament. Despite being unseeded, He Jiting and Tan Qiang remarkably are the only pair to beat world number one pair Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo in 2018. However, the Danes where able to contain this threat and secured a two-game victory, 22-20, 21-16.
Also going strong into the 3rd round is 15th seeds Maiken Fruergaard and Sara Thygesen. They had a no thrills win over Turkish pair Bengisu Ercetin and Nazlican Inci, 21-18, 21-7.
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