Thom Gicquel/ Delphine Delrue will be fighting for a medal in the quarterfinals and so will Carolina Marin and Line Christophersen, who will be facing each other tomorrow.
Tough day for the Europeans at the DAIHATSU Indonesia Masters 2023. As we get closer to the critical stages of the Super 500 tournament, the pressure increases. Those who bid farewell to Istora haven’t done so without a fight — despite losing, we saw great fights from Frenchman Toma Junior Popov and Dane Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt, amongst others.
Just like in the two last tournaments in Asia, the PETRONAS Malaysia Open and the YONEX SUNRISE India Open, France’s Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue have made it once again to the quarterfinals. The duo faced Ye Hong Wei/ Lee Chia Hsin and put pressure on the pair from Chinese Taipei after losing the first game, pushing for a third game and winning 12-21, 21-13, 21-18.
Malaysia’s Soon Huat Goh/ Shevon Jemie Lai will be waiting for them in tomorrow’s quarterfinals. Gicquel/ Delrue won the last time they met, back in December 2022 in the World Tour Finals, in an hour-long match. The French duo will have to watch out even if they’re leading the head-to-head 3-2 as of now.
Two Europeans meet in the quarterfinals
After beating one of Spain’s most successful players, Line Christophersen will now have to get past Spain’s best. The Dane beat Clara Azurmendi in straight games, 21-17 21-5, advancing to the next round to fight for a spot on the podium.
To succeed, she will have to win against Carolina Marin in tomorrow’s match. The European Champion won against Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan, an opponent that she hadn’t faced in almost four years. Will we see the Spaniard taking her first title of the year?