Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen continued their steady run at their first tournament of the year by knocking out men’s doubles world champions Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi in the YONEX GAINWARD German Open 2022 quarterfinals yesterday.
The Danes, who won the competition in 2017, were on court for 72 minutes before prevailing 26-24 19-21 23-21 against the Japanese top seeds.
Following the defeats of Sayaka Takahashi (2014 winner) and Du Yue (2019 with the now-retired Li Yin Hui) in women’s singles and women’s doubles, Astrup/Rasmussen and Huang Ya Qiong remain the only former champions in the competition.
Their compatriot Viktor Axelsen also moved within a match of a potential final with Lee Zii Jia after batting aside Kidambi Srikanth for the fifth time since 2017. He won 21-10 23-21 in 35 minutes.
Lee took five minutes longer to complete his match against Zhao Jun Peng 21-12 21-18.
Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith meanwhile, ended a one-year wait to make their first semifinal since the All England Open last year. The 16-21 21-16 21-19 victory over Indonesians Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari was their third consecutive three-game match in Muelheim an der Ruhr.
The Stoeva sisters, Gabriela and Stefani, also picked up a memorable result – their first ever success (13-21 21-14 21-15) against third seeds Kim Soyeong/Kong Heeyong after four clashes.
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