A quarterfinal day at the German Open, packed with European participation, is now drawing to a close.
The biggest surprise came in one of the final matches of the day, as Julian Maio and William Villeger powered their way into the semifinals. The pair, currently ranked world No. 89, defeated world No. 2 Chia/Goh yesterday and continued their impressive run today with a victory over Lee/Lee from Chinese Taipei, winning 13–21, 21–12, 22–20. It marks their first Super 300 semifinal since the Hylo Open 2024.
Among the other European athletes advancing to the semifinals are Denmark’s mixed doubles pair Mads Vestergaard and Christine Busch, who secured a 21–11, 21–18 win over Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Julie Macpherson.
Toma Popov battled through a marathon match against Japan’s Koga. The older Popov brother claimed victory 21–13, 19–21, 21–19. On the same court immediately afterwards, younger brother Christo followed suit, defeating NG Ka Long Angus 21–18, 21–17.
Unfortunately, the quarterfinal stage marked the end of the tournament for Europe’s highest-ranked men’s and women’s doubles pairs. Anders Skaarup Rasmussen and Kim Astrup were defeated by China’s Chen/Liu 21–13, 21–12. The Stoeva sisters, who were top seeds in the tournament, lost 21–10, 21–18 to China’s Bao/Luo.
The quarterfinals also proved to be the final stop for singles players Line Christophersen, Nhat Nguyen, and Kaloyana Nalbantova. Christophersen faced world No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi. Although the Dane led at the mid-game interval in both sets, it was the Chinese star who proved strongest at the decisive moments, winning 21–14, 21–19. Nhat Nguyen fell 21–18, 21–15 to eighth seed Chi Yu Jen.
Kaloyana Nalbantova, who has delivered some outstanding performances throughout the tournament, faced Japan’s Miyazaki. The two teenagers played an intense, back-and-forth contest, but in the end it was the Japanese player who emerged victorious, 18–21, 21–18, 21–15.
The final match of the day featured Czech brothers Jiri Kral and Ondrej Kral against the Chinese favorites Liang/Wang. It was the Kral brothers’ first Super 300 quarterfinal together as a pair. The Czechs defeated Bourakkadi/Neumann of Germany in the first round and were set to face seventh seeds Lee/Yang from Chinese Taipei in the second round. However, the Taipei pair had to retire due to injury at 18–18 in the opening set.
In today’s match, the Czechs delivered a strong performance and stayed level at 16–16 in the first game before the Chinese pair closed it out 21–17. In the second game, the Chinese favorites controlled the match throughout and secured the win 21–14.
The program for tomorrow and who the European players will face, can be found here.
