“I feel extremely happy. I think we put up a good game so I’m glad we managed to pull through”, says Selena Piek.
The crowd’s favourite doubles pair, Robin Tabeling and Selena Piek, are on for tomorrow’s finals. The 2022 European Championships bronze medallists played in the semifinals today against English duo Gregory Mairs and Jenny Moore and won 21-14 21-14. “I think we started really well in both games, we got them pretty good under control”, states Tabeling. “We know they’re a tricky couple, it’s no surprise that they’re in the semifinals. They can put up a good fight, but I think we hanged in there and showed that we overall outperformed them today”, he adds.
Tomorrow, Tabeling and Piek will face another English pair, Callum Hemming and Jessica Pugh: “It will be an interesting match and we need to be on top of our game to be able to beat them”, confesses Piek.
In men’s singles, Arnaud Merkle from France played in the quarterfinals against Dane Magnus Johannesen. The match was intense as it went to three games, but Merkle won 21-17, 18-21, 22-20. Later in the semifinals, the Frenchman faced another Danish player. Mads Christophersen, who had won against Dutch player Aram Mahmoud in the quarterfinals, beat Merkle 21-14 21-18.
Christophersen will face Christo Popov tomorrow; it will be a rematch of this year's Nantes International final in which the Dane took the title. “My first three-game match of this tournament was today. I felt great and I feel that I still have a lot to give tomorrow so I’m looking forward to the final”, says Christophersen: “It’s always fun to play in the finals no matter who you’re playing against”.
Christo Popov, France, faced Julien Carraggi, Belgium, in the quarterfinals and won 21-15 21-16. In the semifinals, he played against Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen, winning 21-13 21-10. “I’m very happy today. From my side there was no plan. I just adapted during the match to the opponent and the hall, and I’m glad I could adapt to the hall today”, says Popov.
In women’s doubles, Debora Jille and Cheryl Seinen, Netherlands, won against Liu Chiao-Yun and Wang Yu Qiao, Chinese Taipei, in the quarterfinals. It was a tough three-game match, but the Dutch pair was strong and secured a spot in the semifinals 26-24, 20-22, 21-10. “We’re really happy. It’s a home tournament so you want to do well in front of the crowd. We are glad about the way we played”, shares Jille. In the semifinals, they won against Huang Yu-Hsun and Lin Sih Yun, Chinese Taipei, 21-11, 18-21, 21-16. Tomorrow, the pair will face England's Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith in the finals.
Callum Hemming and Ethan Van Leeuwen, England, played against Lee Chia-Han and Liao Chao Pang, Chinese Taipei, in the quarterfinals and won 21-17 21-19. Later in the semifinals, the English duo played against Danes Marcus Rindshøj and Andreas Søndergaard, winning 21-9 21-19. Tomorrow in the finals, the English pair will play against Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Yang Ming-Tse, Chinese Taipei.