Lauren Smith and Sarah Walker won a thriller to storm into the Women’s Doubles semi-finals of the 2017 European Championships yesterday in Kolding.
England’s Smith/ Walker (featured image) beat Denmark’s Maiken Fruergaard/Sara Thygesen 22-20 24-22 to enter the last-four, where they face Bulgaria’s Stefani Stoeva/Gabriela Stoeva.
In the top half of the draw, Russia’s Anastasia Chervyakova and Olga Morozova surprised Dutch pair Selena Piek and Eefje Muskens.
The Russian duo overcame a first-game loss to beat the No.5 seeds 19-21 21-16 21-14, earning the right to play top seeds Christinna Pedersen/Kamilla Rytter Juhl (Denmark).
Young Dane Anders Antonsen positioned himself for a shot at the Men’s Singles title by reaching the semi-finals. Antonsen held off veteran German Marc Zwiebler 21-19 21-18. Antonsen’s quest will find a formidable adversary in top seed Viktor Axelsen, who brushed aside Netherlands’s Mark Caljouw.
The other semi-final will see Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus against England’s Rajiv Ouseph.
Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour overcame Denmark’s Line Kjaersfeldt 21-9 21-17 to set up a semi-final against Switzerland’s Sabrina Jaquet. The top half of the draw will feature top seed Carolina Marin (Spain) against Denmark’s Mette Poulsen.
Denmark dominated Men’s Doubles, securing all four places in the semi-finals. Mads Conrad-Petersen and Mads Pieler Kolding beat England’s Marcus Ellis/Chris Langridge in a thriller, 19-21 21-15 23-21, while Mathias Christiansen/David Daugaard made it past Russia’s Vladimir Ivanov/Ivan Sozonov 21-15 19-21 21-15. Top seeds Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen and third seeds Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen are the other semi-finalists.
Mixed Doubles saw a couple of upsets. France’s Ronan Labar/Audrey Fontaine surprised third seeds Mathias Christiansen/Sara Thygesen 21-19 8-21 22-20, while Ireland’s Sam Magee/Chloe Magee outlasted Poland’s Robert Mateusiak/Nadiezda Zieba 22-20 17-21 21-12.
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