It is early March, yet for many of the world’s best the German Open 2022 marks the first outing of the year. Blowing away the cobwebs is a priority, however, for some high ranked players, it was more of a shock to the system.
This was visible none more so in the mixed doubles. The day began with the category showcased on all three courts. Court 1 saw the world’s number one pair, Dechapol Puavaranukroh/ Sapsiree Taerattanachai get off to a slow start against India’s new partnership, Sai Pratheek K/ Sikki Reddy. After stumbling to the opening game, they stepped it up to win 21-19, 21-8.
The crowd in Muelheim an der Ruhr warmly welcomed Jansen/ Efler to court 2. Still a relatively new partnership in their own right, against the brand-new Chinese combination of Zheng Si Wei/ Zhang Shu Xian. We all know about former world champion, Zheng Si Wei, however, his partner is now a promising talent and a double World Junior Championship bronze medallist.
Despite the anticipation, it was Jansen/ Efler who were left smiling in the end. Utilising their experience and knowledge of their opponent’s strengths, they were victorious 21-19, 21-17.
-I am feeling really happy right now. In the beginning, we gave a lot of respect to Zheng Si Wei, knowing that he is very fast and can cover both sides of the court well. I am happy that we were able to control this in our match, Jansen stated proudly.
Efler had a key role in gaining the attack for her partner and explained what was important to maintain the advantage in this area.
-We knew that we could challenge them in the mid-court, and we are not allowed to play high. We did that quite well today.
With the news that the other German pair in the category, the European bronze medallists, Mark Lamsfuss/ Isabel Lohau lost out to Danes Mikkel Mikkelsen/ Rikke Søby, all German hopes in mixed doubles lay with Jansen/ Efler.
It does not get any easier as they will face the current top pair in the world, Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh/ Sapsiree Taerattanachai in the next round.
More upsets
England’s Callum Hemming/ Jessica Pugh on court 3 took down the number eight seeded Malaysians, Goh Soon Huat/ Lai Shevon Jemie. It looked like Goh/ Lai were in full control in the opening game, but the English pair were able to take the initiative and did not let up to the very end, winning 14-21, 21-13, 21-12.
Soon after, Scotland’s Adam Hall/ Julie MacPherson faced Malaysia’s new partnership of World men’s doubles bronze medallist Ong Yew Sin and former Olympic silver medallist, Goh Liu Ying. On paper an exciting duo, however, experience and synergy as a pair counted for more as Hall/ MacPherson neatly dispatched them 21-16, 21-13.
In the next round, fans have a fascinating England vs Scotland clash to look forward to, as Hall/ MacPherson take on Hemming/ Pugh. Adding to the tension, England leads the head to head 1-0, with their sole encounter coming at the Scottish Open 2021.