Pauline Cavé and Mollie Patterson have reached new heights after winning their quarter finals on Day 2 in Rotterdam. In the Men’s Singles, we will have a rematch of the 2023 World Championships final between Luke Griffiths and Leon Griffiths.
World Champion vs. World Champion
The first quarter final in the Women’s Singles was between the only two women in the draw to have won a World Championships title.
“I started with a really good table tennis,” Myriam said. This was very important, as the last three times they’ve met, Stine has won all sports. Jacobsen fought back to win the badminton and take a 2-point lead, but with Enmer’s tennis still to come, the Dane would need to win big in squash to make a game of it.
The Frenchwoman actually won the squash set too. “In tennis, I needed 19 [points to win the match], so I went to tennis more relaxed,” Myriam explained. “I know her game is … like moonballs, so it’s not really easy to play. So I’m really happy with this.”
Pauline Cavé vs. Izzy Bramhall
Pauline Cavé played wildcard Izzy Bramhall in the second quarter final. It is the first time they have played each other on the World Tour.
“I think Izzy is a very good player… I did a solid table tennis, good badminton and also good squash, so [I’m] pretty happy [with] the win,” the World Number 3 said.
This means there will be an all-French semi final. The last time they met on the World Tour, Myriam won by just one point. But they also compete against each other in the French domestic tour.
Kirsten Kaptein vs. Mollie Patterson
The preparation for these two athletes could not have been more different. On Wednesday, Kirsten Kaptein was busy winning the Senior Women’s +40 category of the World Championships, before defeating Dara Ladner by one point. Mollie Patterson, on the other hand, was playing her first match of the tournament, after Sandra Ettenauer withdrew.
Kirsten wins most of her table tennis when playing racketlon, but Mollie is at another level. In her 22-match singles career on the World Racketlon Tour, she is yet to lose a table tennis set. This continued against the +40s World Champion, as the young Brit won 21-9. Patterson extended her lead in the badminton, before Kaptein fought back in the squash and tennis, but it was too late. Mollie won by 13 points.
Matilda Parslow vs. Anna-Klara Ahlmer
The last quarter final was between squash specialist Matilda Parslow and World Number 1 Anna-Klara Ahlmer. In three previous meetings, the Swede has been victorious.
Anna-Klara started strongly in table tennis and badminton. Matilda won the squash, but not by enough to force tennis. Ahlmer by 22 points.
Luke Griffiths vs. Koen Hageraats
These two players have met four times before on the World Tour. “Me and Koen know exactly what’s going to happen in our matches. [Points would be] even after the first two [sports],” Luke explained. The match followed this script as Hageraats won table tennis 21-7 and Griffiths won badminton 21-6.
“An absolute battle on the squash court. It felt like about a 45-minute set,” Luke continued. This ultimately went Koen’s way, 21-18. So the Dutchman took a 2-point lead into tennis.
“I was hoping I’d have him on the tennis, but his tennis has improved a lot… it’s not good when I didn’t have energy!” said Luke. But Luke was able to find enough energy and found his range, to win by 8 points overall.
Joerg Kanonenberg vs. Leon Griffiths
The last elite match of the day started with a 23-21 win to Leon in table tennis. The young Brit heaped the pressure on, winning badminton and squash to single figures, stopping the match before Joerg could play his strongest sport. Leon by 27 points.
This will be the second time that the two Griffiths brothers will meet in the World Championships final. On that day in 2023, younger brother Luke won by 14 points. Can Luke win a 4th consecutive World Championships, or is Leon’s perseverance about to pay off?
Elite action for Day 3 kicks off with the Women’s Singles Semi Finals from 2:00 PM.
Full results and draws are available: Men’s Singles | Women’s Singles
