Skip Silvana Tirinzoni's Swiss curling team has qualified directly to the semi-finals at the World Championships in Canada.
The Swiss women qualified directly to the semi-finals of the World Cup, which was held in Sydney, Canada. Skip Silvana Tirinzoni's team won the last round duel against Sweden with a score of 4-2. As second in the group behind Canada, the four-time world champions can avoid the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals late Saturday evening, the opponent will be one of the winners of the two quarterfinal matches. Direct qualification to the semi-finals also means the Swiss women won't have to contend with the previously unbeaten Canadians led by Skip Rachel Homan before the final.
Strong balance sheet for the Swiss
CC Aarau's Carole Howald, Selina Wychonki, Skip Silvana Tirinzoni and Alina Patz won the last two matches of the round against top teams: 6:2 against Italy, then 4:2 against Sweden. They finished the round robin with an excellent record of 10:2 wins. Thanks to their second place in the round robin, they will be able to start the semi-finals with the advantage of the last stone, which should not be underestimated.
legend:
Semi-finals can be planned
Skip Silvana Tirinzoni and her team.
Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP
Whether in the match against the Italians led by Stefania Constantini or in the match against their arch rivals from Sweden (skip Anna Hasselborg), the Swiss were characterized by a lot of patience and confident defensive play. That's why the low scores came in at a total of only 14 stones.
In the match against Sweden, the Swiss team led 3-1 in the first half, which was decisive. However, it was a very weak matter that led to this provisional result in the fifth end. The last stone in Hasselborg settled a few millimeters away.
The decision goes against Italy in the ninth end
Against the powerful Italians, Tirinzoni, Patz, Witschunki and Hawald led 3-0 after 4 ends, but they had to allow their opponents to get closer to 2-3 immediately. After two zeros, Switzerland rose to 4:2 in the eighth end. As a result, Italy could not withstand the pressure. After a stone missing from Constantini and two stolen stones from Tirinzoni & Co., the southern Europeans surrendered.
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