As we usually know it, the semi-finals are played on Saturday, while Sunday is reserved for the finals. At the European Championships, however, things are a bit different. Here, the finals in women’s doubles and mixed doubles are played on Saturday, while the remaining three finals will be played on Sunday.
The winners of today’s two finals were:
- Women’s doubles – Gabriela Stoeva & Stefani Stoeva
- Mixed doubles – Mathias Christiansen & Alexandra Bøje
You can read more about those two matches here. Women’s doubles & Mixed doubles
The day began with matches on two courts, featuring the four men’s singles players side by side.
On Court 1, it was Denmark vs France, as top seed Anders Antonsen faced Arnaud Merkle, who yesterday defeated his compatriot Alex Lanier in the quarterfinals. The Danish star showed great form and control on court today and appeared to be in excellent physical condition. After 54 minutes of play, he secured his place in tomorrow’s final with a 21–18, 21–13 victory.
On Court 2, Antonsen’s opponent was decided in a rematch of the German Open final from five weeks ago, a brotherly clash between Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov. Just like at the German Open, it was the younger brother, Christo, who came out on top, winning 21–18, 27–25.
However, the Popov brothers were not done for the day. Later in the evening, they teamed up in the men’s doubles semi-final against Alex Green & Zach Russ from England, who yesterday made an upset by defeating top seeds Kim Astrup & Anders Skaarup Rasmussen. The Popov brothers were dominant in today’s semi-final and booked their place in the final in just 34 minutes with a convincing 21–9, 21–14 win.
Their opponents were determined in the match between Daniel Lundgaard/Mads Vestergaard and Ben Lane/Sean Vendy. The match swung back and forth in both games, but in the decisive moments, the English pair proved sharper. They secured the win 21–19, 21–17, setting up an exciting men’s doubles final tomorrow between England and France.
In today’s women’s singles semi-finals, there was an all-Danish clash in one match between Mia Blichfeldt and Line Kjærsfeldt, while the other featured Kirsty Gilmour from Scotland against Neslihan Arin from Türkiye.
Kjærsfeldt and Blichfeldt were first on court. Kjærsfeldt made the stronger start and led throughout the opening game, eventually winning it 21–16. The second game was even closer, with Blichfeldt reaching game point at 20–19 but unable to convert. Instead, Line Kjærsfeldt sealed the match 22–20 to reach her second consecutive European Championships final.
In the other semi-final, Neslihan Arin from Türkiye started strongly with a 21–16 win in the first game. From there, however, it was largely Kirsty Gilmour in control. She led almost from start to finish in both the second and third games, winning 21–14 21–11 to reach her sixth European Championships final. Despite five previous appearances, Gilmour is still chasing her first title. It will be exciting to see whether tomorrow is finally her moment, or if Kjærsfeldt can repeat last year’s success.
The matches begin at 12:00 CET, and the schedule is as follows:
- Anders Antonsen vs Christo Popov
- Line Kjærsfeldt vs Kirsty Gilmour
- Christo Popov/Toma Junior Popov vs Ben Lane/Sean Vendy
