Fab first set paves the way to the quarterfinals for German duo

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A packed crowd watched Julia and Chantal secure their first victory on home sand

A crushing 21-8 first set score was the difference as Chantal Laboureur and Julia Sude hit back after suffering a shock defeat on Wednesday to book an immediate place in the quarterfinals.

The German duo were frustrated by Switzerland’s Joana Heidrich and Anouk Vergé-Dépré on the opening day of the tournament, but bounced back in style by beating the Czech Republic’s Kristyna Kolocova and Michala Kvapilova – and gain revenge for their defeat against them in last week’s European Championships.

But their opening set performance certainly came as a surprise – as did the news that they topped the pool as a result.

“We didn’t expect it to be so clear in the first set and that has helped us a lot,” said Chantal after their three-set victory. “We knew we had to beat them with a certain amount of points after they beat the Swiss this morning.

“We had the same kind of pressure in the Presidents’ Cup when we had to win with an exact amount of points and perhaps we need to play with that kind of pressure.

“It’s a great turnaround.”

After losing their tournament opener yesterday, Julia was relieved to have got that all-important first win on home soil.

“We were surprised with the way everything worked in the first set – we just did it naturally,” she explained. “We tried to relax, keep calm and be patient.

“We played bad yesterday so this win is reward for the mental work we’ve done between these two games. It’s a massive win.”