More European success today at the YONEX French Open, including two huge wins in mixed doubles.

Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue played one of the final matches of the morning session, with the French crowd eagerly waiting to see their home favourites who were facing Rohan Kapoor/Gadde Ruthvika Shivani – a pair they hadn’t played before.

The French duo, seeded fifth, didn’t have it easy. “I think we were a bit surprised with their game style. We didn’t really know their game style, but I think we started well. It was at the end that we didn’t move and we lost the first set,” Delrue explained. The opening game was close but went to the Indian pair, 21-23.

Gicquel/Delrue bounced back with a strong second game, 21-8, before fighting through a close decider and securing their spot in the quarterfinals. Delrue mentioned the home crowd’s energy as a key element in pushing them through. “It was hard to stay calm because it was not a really good day on court. We fought a lot to keep going, we can’t give up in front of the crowd.“ Gicquel added: “We celebrated with them because they were good today. They helped us a lot to win this close match.”

Their next opponents will be Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Bøje, who also delivered a thrilling performance. The Danes faced world number one Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin – their third encounter since returning to the circuit this summer. “It was a crazy match again. Today we managed to stay pretty calm and tried to find the solutions, and just stayed in the game all the time,” said Bøje. “In the end, it was maybe a bit luck. I don’t know. But yeah, we are obviously so happy to get the win.”

They turned around last week’s result against the Chinese pair with a 13-21, 21-12, 29-27 win. This win boosts their confidence. “We have beaten some really good pairs since our comeback. When we step on the court, we believe that we can win against everyone,” said Bøje.

The two European pairs will meet tomorrow as the last match of the morning session on Court 1. Gicquel/Delrue lead the head-to-head 4-1 but the Danes are hungry and building momentum since their comeback, while the French duo will have the home support behind them. It will be a thrilling match, and another one to look forward to is the clash between Viktor Axelsen and Anders Antonsen.

You can see all of today’s results here, as well as tomorrow’s order of play.

Just like today, the quarterfinals will be played in two sessions. The morning session begins at 10am CEST, and the evening session starts at 5pm.