The mixed doubles final kicked off a great finals day line-up at the Swiss Open 2021, and it did not disappoint with an emotional milestone victory for France.
For both pairs, their journey to the final has been a career-defining one. Danes Mathias Christiansen/ Alexandra Bøje spoke about how much it means to them that they are showing what they can do at this level. Unseeded here, they defeated the Olympic silver medallists Chan Peng Soon/ Goh Liu Ying followed by the European Games gold medallists, Marcus Ellis/ Lauren Smith.
The French duo of Thom Gicquel/ Delphine Delrue have shaken up the mixed doubles category with stellar performances of late, culminating in two semifinals in January at the Thailand Open and the World Tour Finals. Each time they are asked to back it up, they do.
The pairs played twice before in 2019, taking a win each. However, today they are two very different pairs. Christiansen/ Bøje took the early initiative in the match, at one point being 19-16 up. The Danes have spoken about shaky ends to games, and that was their undoing once more. Gicquel/ Delrue with a run of five points stole the game 21-19.
- We were strong mentally today. It was an up and down match but I think in the end we were better, Delrue stated.
Simply the best
The Danes got off to a great start to the second game, getting to the break at 11-4. However, they could not shake off the formidable Gicquel/ Delrue who finished strongly and won the title they have been waiting for after two unsuccessful Super 300 finals with the scoreline of 21-19, 21-19.
-We really wanted to win this one and prove that we are the best pair in Europe, and I think we showed that this week, Gicquel announced confidently.
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