Today's win is an important step for the French pair in securing their place at the World Tour Finals.
Third time truly is the charm. Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue faced Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Bøje for the third consecutive tournament, with the Danes coming in on a phenomenal run since their comeback. They have beaten the world number one at the World Championships and won multiple BWF World Tour titles, including the Macau Open and HYLO Open.
They had also come out on top in the last two encounters against the former European Champions, winning at the French Open quarterfinals and in the HYLO Open final.
This time, however, the French pair managed to implement their gameplan to perfection. They controlled the first game from start to finish, taking it 21-15. The Danes responded strongly, leading throughout the second game and claiming it 21-13. The decider was level until the interval, but Gicquel/Delrue found an extra gear and broke away, winning the third game 21-15.
This is an important result for the French duo, who currently sit just inside the top eight of the World Tour Finals race with a lead of only 1020 points over the ninth-ranked pair. After finishing second in Kumamoto last year, another deep run this week is crucial for keeping or improving their points.
Tomorrow they face Chinese Taipei’s Ye Hong Wei/Nicole Gonzales Chan, a pair they narrowly defeated in the Round of 16 at this year’s World Championships in Paris.
In men’s singles, Rasmus Gemke lost to Chinese Taipei’s Wang Tzu Wei in their first meeting since 2019, bringing their head-to-head to 1-1.
