Day 4 is yet another European success story here in Saarbrücken, Germany, as surprises keep coming and European talents keep delivering at this Super 500 tournament.
From a European perspective the day had so much to offer that it’s almost overwhelming, but we’re still going to do it.
Starting the day off was an incredible battle between two of Europe’s strongest women’s doubles pairs: Margot Lambert/Camille Pognante vs Stefani Stoeva/Gabriela Stoeva. Lambert has stood across the Stoeva sisters before here in Saarbrücken, when she secured her European Championships title with her former partner Anne Tran. This time she stood side by side with Pognante. The two put the current European Champions to the test. Attacking play and fast-paced movement was clearly the gameplan, and after three gruelling games the French did it and beat the first seeded pair.
Bengisu Ercetin / Nazlıcan İnci won their quarterfinal against the Malaysian fourth seeded pair after they retired in the second game.
Then came Kalle Koljonen vs Ayush Shetty, where Koljonen delivered another incredible win against one of the top names in the draw. This comes after his unbelievable win against Chou Tien Chen in the first round. He now secures himself a place amongst the final 4 as he stands to meet Magnus Johannesen in the semifinal.
“I’ve worked on my net game. It doesn’t make sense lifting when I’ve got a good back court. It brings me opportunities but it’s mentally difficult because it doesn’t come naturally to play that style.”
On his future opponent he said:
“I can’t focus on the final, on the title. I have to take it point by point. We start at love all and the best will win the match.”
Alex Lanier will play the other semifinal after a win against India’s Lakshya Sen.
In women’s singles the Danes Line Christophersen and Mia Blichfeldt defeated their opponents, meaning they are going to clash today in a bout for a ticket to the final. Meanwhile Keisha Azzahra put up an honourable performance against the top seeded Indonesian Putri Wardani, losing 2 close games 21-18 21-19.
In mixed doubles we had three matches that were all European clashes. In the all-Danish clash it was Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Bøje, who have been playing excellently recently, who beat their national teammates and former defending HYLO champions to reach the semifinals. They will play Spanish pair Rodrigo Garcia/Lucia Rodriguez in their first Super 500 tournament, where the Danes are heavy favourites.
The other semifinal will be Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue taking on the sixth seeded Thai pair Ruttanapak Oupthong/Jenicha Sudjaipraparat.
Overall in three categories we are guaranteed European finalists as we have three all-European semifinals. In women’s doubles the two European pairs are taking on two seeded Chinese Taipei pairs, a tough battle to be sure, but one we hope they will be able to overcome. In men’s doubles Europe was eliminated.
