by Simon Daish

A potentially tricky affair on paper but Timo Boll made relatively light work of the situation needing just five games to see off no.8 seed and fellow Borussia Düsseldorf club mate Kristian Karlsson (11-3, 12-10, 11-6, 6-11, 11-1), gaining safe passage to the semi-finals for an astonishing eighth time!

The 2018 champion will either face German colleague Dimitrij Ovtcharov or Denmark’s Jonathan Groth for a place in the final.

“It is always hard to play against a teammate, but a good start gave me some advantage. He managed to return into the match in the third game, but at that point is was too late.” Timo Boll

Germany also produced the goods over in the Women’s Singles tournament as two-time runner-up Petrissa Solja powered past third seed Elizabeta Samara with a convincing win.

Seeded two positions lower but that didn’t stop Petrissa Solja from turning up the heat on her Romanian opponent, keeping her name in the title race with a 4-1 victory (11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6).

“We played against each other a long time ago. Today, I felt confident with my service and receive game. Especially with receive. I did not make many mistakes. Usually Samara has a very dangerous service and I gave my best to avoid any easy points on her service.” Petrissa Solja

Success sees Petrissa Solja progress to the semi-finals of the Women’s Singles draw for the fourth time. However, to reach the gold medal contest the no.5 seed must topple top seed Sofia Polcanova.