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(Photo: Badminton Photo)
A European clean sweep
Date: 10/17/2020 8:48 PM
Published by : Yash Sharma
There were no surprises today in doubles as the favourites made the finals in all three categories. After 23 years, all the doubles titles at the prestigious Denmark Open will be won by the European pairs.

Battle of the veterans
Even before the semifinals took place, the experienced Vladimir Ivanov/ Ivan Sozonov and Marcus Ellis/ Chris Langridge were enthusiastic about the prospect of a finals clash. Indeed, it will happen tomorrow. Both the pairs are highly accomplished and a Denmark Open title will only add to their overflowing trophy cabinets. 

While the head-to-head record of 4-0 will suggest a favourite, both the pairs are below their best due to a seven-month break from badminton. However, they played well in today’s semifinals to beat younger pairs. It will be interesting to watch who comes out on top tomorrow: the Russians or the English.

No surprises
The top two Japanese pairs are expectedly through to the women’s doubles final of the Denmark Open. 

Interestingly, Yuki Fukushima/ Sayaka Hirota are yet to play their best badminton and survived a quarterfinal scare as they overcame Chloe Birch/ Lauren Smith 21-19 in the decider. One wonders if they have been saving it all up for their younger teammates Mayu Matsumoto/ Wakana Nagahara, whom they haven’t beaten just once in their last four encounters. On the other hand, Matsumoto and Nagahara have won all their matches without dropping a game. 

In contrast with their style so far, Fukushima and Hirota might play a very aggressive game tomorrow. They were successful with such an approach in winning the All England title earlier this year. We will hopefully witness an exciting battle!

Lamsfuss makes up for the loss
After losing the men’s doubles second round to the English pair of Ben Lane/ Sean Vendy, Mark Lamsfuss has made the mixed doubles final with partner Isabel Herttrich by beating the All England 2020 semifinalists Marcus Ellis/ Lauren Smith. A sparkling performance by the Germans prevented an all-English final. 

The final tomorrow will be a repeat of the 2018 European Championships semifinal, a nail-biting encounter in which Chris Adcock/ Gabrielle Adcock triumphed 25-23 in the last of three exciting games. The Germans will sense their chances against the English as they seek to claim their biggest title.
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