The journey ends in the quarterfinals. With Mark Lamsfuß and Marvin Seidel the last German athletes at the HYLO Open in Saarbrücken, Germany, are now eliminated from their home tournament.

It was not meant to be. Mark Lamsfuß and Marvin Seidel survived six match points against Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen. They themselves missed two game points to force a decisive third set. In the end, the defeat was almost to be expected when looking at the head-to-head between both pairs. The German and Danish doubles teams have now met 13 times, with ten of those duels going to Astrup/Rasmussen.

"We came into the match very difficult and definitely didn't show our best badminton. Of course that is frustrating," Seidel analyzed. "Sometimes a little bit of luck can make the difference, too" added Lamsfuß after losing 25-27 in the second game: "We fought hard, but they were just the better pair overall."

Still, there was praise from the Danish counterpart all around. "The Germans forced us to play well," said Astrup: "If we didn't play the perfect shot, it was punished directly" he explained. "We are really happy to be back on track. The joy on the field is back" added Rasmussen.

Astrup/Rasmussen will now face Lu/Yang of Chinese Taipei in Saturday's semifinals. The duo prevailed in a nerve-wracking and jubilant thriller against the Chinese Liang/Wang (21:19, 19:21, 21:19). 

The big surprise in the men's doubles came early in the afternoon: World No. 1 Hoki/Kobayashi were eliminated by Lee/Yang from Chinese Taipei (21:14, 19:21, 21:23). The semifinals are completed by Ben Lane and Sean Vendy, the two Englishmen had no trouble against the Indian duo Rankireddy/Shetty (21:17, 21:14).

In women's doubles, the last remaining European duo failed in the quarterfinals. Margot Lambert and Anne Tran from France lost to Thailand's Kititharakul/Prajongjai, seeded first (15-21, 15-21). "We haven't played against such a strong team in a long time" Tran paid respect to their opponents. 

Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue continue to advance. The second-seeded Frenchmen defeated the English duo Mairs/Moore (23:21, 21:14) - and are not alone in the semifinals from a European point of view. Mathias Thyrri and Amalie Magelund secured their ticket in the top four with a three-set win over Rivaldy/Mentrai from Indonesia (21:19, 13:21, 21:17).

In the deciding set, the Danes quickly made things clear and led by seven points early on. "The big lead was decisive for the match. We were able to carry it through to the end" said Magelund. Thyrri is also optimistic about the rest of the tournament: "Things are going their way, this is our tournament."

The fifth-seeded Danes Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Böje, on the other hand, will have to pack their bags after a clear defeat against Indonesia's Kusharjanto/Kusumawati (12:21, 21:8). "We have nothing to lose," Kusharjanto sent a little message towards Gicquel/Delrue.

In the women's singles, the two remaining Europeans were eliminated. Line Kjearsfeldt, who played a strong tournament, lost to Han Yue from China (17:21, 12:21). The former world champion Carolina Marín, seeded on position one, was defeated by Zhang Yi Man (CHN) after a hard fight of more than one hour (21:19, 19:21, 19:21). Marín gave away a comfortable lead in the deciding set, Zhang fought back with six points in a row and entered the semifinals.

In the quarterfinals of men's singles Toma Junior Popov of France beat Li Shi Feng of China (21:16, 21:16). "It was really a tough match. I had to fight until the last shot and stay focused," Popov explained afterwards: "Right now I am proud and happy."

Popov will face Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in Saturday's semifinals. The 32-year-old defeated the eleven years younger Thai Kunlavut Vitidsarn (21:10, 21:10). Almost a generation duel with the better end for the oldie: "So I still feel young, too," laughed Chou: "I still have enough energy for more matches."

Chou triumphed three times in a row in Saarbrücken between 2012 and 2014. A fourth title could follow. "I enjoy it here and feel very comfortable. I will continue to give my best," said the World Championship bronze medalist.

In the second semifinal is Anthony Ginting (IDN), who clearly defeated last year's winner Loh Kean Yew (SGP) (21:13, 21:14). "I enjoy every match, every rally and every moment," said the Indonesian. Fellow countryman Jonatan Christie, on the other hand, failed to beat Srikanth Kidambi (13:21, 19:21). "In the end I had to fight hard," analyzed the Indian, who had already led 17:10 in the second game before Christie came close again: "But overall it was a very good match for me."

Find all results from the quarterfinals of the HYLO Open here.