Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler were only ranked the fourth best German pair at the start on this tournament. Now they have risen into the top four pairs in the world, reports the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).
A decisive 2-0 victory in the quarters over US pair Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat means the two students from Essen are now the only non-Brazilian team left in the tournament.
And it would seem the Germans have had luck in their draw. They will face Brazil's sixth best pair Taiana Lima and Fernanda Alves, ranked 31st in the world at the start of the tournament.
Semmler was clearly shocked by the quarter final victory.
“I can't believe it,” the two-time German champion told FAZ. “It was an awesome game. Semi-final – everything's going well.”
“Our game plan went perfectly, without compromise, throughout the entire match,” said trainer Tilo Backhaus.
Now they are head to The Hague trying to upset a Brazilian fiesta.
“We're not driving to The Hague to lose two matches. Of course we want a medal now,” Semmler said confidently.
The 31-year-old Holtwick reflected that “we won't compete in so many more world championships. We wanted to prove to ourselves that we could be at the top at this level of the game.”
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