Evening all – another day bites the dust!

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Karla Borger and Britta Büthe gave the Hamburg crowd something to shout about! Photocredit: Joerg Mitter.

Phew! Our fingers are as hot as the sand as the sun comes down on another brilliant day at the smart Major Hamburg.

What’s more, can you believe it’s Thursday? We’ve had 144 stunning matches over the past three days, thousands of points and millions of smiles…oh and our very own Marnin made his debut today, too! What a legend.

And the German fans who have raced into the Rothenbaum have had plenty to shout about too. Especially if you’re cheering for the women! A fabulous four teams from the home nation made it through to the last 16 on a truly terrific Thursday.

After Laboureur/Sude made it through earlier, Center Court was then the spot to be, as Ludwig/Walkenhorst, Holtwick/Semmler and Borger/Büthe all wowed the crowd with wonderful wins. The noise was deafening. And we’ll say it again! It’s only Thursday!

It wasn’t so straightforward for the men but Böckermann/Flüggen and Erdmann/Matysik made it through to the knockout stages by the narrowest of margins as did Julius Brink’s favorite Italian’s Carambula/Ranghieri.

But of course the day wasn’t all about Europe and South America. North America have been bouncing around the court with confidence.

Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross had to fight all the way to reach the knockout stage but Canadians Pavan/Bansley topped Pool E to grab a place in the last 16, despite losing to Laboureur/Sude earlier in the morning.

While the razzmatazz of a first day on Center Court is over there’s still plenty of action behind-the-scenes tonight…the draw for the knockout rounds takes place. Which teams will face who? Keep your eyes glued on our website to find out!

One thing’s for sure…the Germans will sleep well tonight.

Yeahhhh! Markus Böckermann and Lars Flüggen celebrate on Center Court. Photocredit: Joerg Mitter.