It's getting serious... were're headed for the goalline. Today at the 22nd Bitburger SaarLorLux Badminton Open the quarter finals were scheduled. During the 50.000 US $ endowed Grand-Prix tournament there was a grand total of 7 matches with German participants. Tomorrow the audience will see a total of three matches with DBV-athletes, in women's single, women's double and mixed at the Saarbrücker Saarlandhalle at 3PM.

Juliane Schenk has earned her ticket for the semifinals for the third time in a row. After being second in 2007, winning third place last year and ranking eleventh worldwide, she wants to make her first Grand-Prix victory perfect. Against the Danish Karina Jørgensen the German Champion clearly took over the lead with 21:4, 21:17. "I didn't waste any time. The first set I kept up the speed. The second set almost tipped - but I never had the feeling that it would go wrong. Tomorrow against the Dutch Jie Yao it will be quite a bit more difficult. I haven't played against her in a long time. Back then she had just arrived from China. I was very young still and she taught me a lesson. That won't happen tomorrow", said the Mülheimerin.

The second German single-player Karin Schnaase unfortunately has been eliminated. She lost her match against runner up Ella Diehl (Russian) with 13:21, 15:21.

A marvelous mixed match was played by Michael Fuchs and Annekatrin Lillie. The German Champions defeated the English Chris Adcock and Gabrielle White with 21:18, 14:21, 21:17. " That was a really good triumph for us. The key to success lay in the first three strokes. We managed to get those in. Now we'll see, where we go from here", Michael Fuchs explained after the match. Tomorrows opponents will be Ruud Bosch and Paulien van Doormalen. The Dutch kicked Ingo Kindervater and Birgit Overzier out of the race with 21:17, 21:15. Also eliminated are Johannes Schöttler and Sandra Marinello. The British Robin Middleton ad Marianna Agathangelou were too strong for the German Duo and prevailed with 21:14, 21:17.

In the next round also is a DBV-double - Sandra Marinello and Birgit Overzier. They beat Anna Narel and Natalia Potcztowiak from Poland with 21:16 and 21:17. Tomorrow awaits a tough battle: First placed Helle Nielsen and Marie Roepke. Today Johanna Goliszewski and Annekatrin Lillie lost again the Danish ladies. The German women were practicallz overrun by the Scandinavian women with 21:13 und 21:10.

The Finnish Ville Lang was no stumbling block for Denmarks shooting star Jan Ø. Jørgensen today. Also in the Semifinals are the Dutch Eric Pang, the English Carl Baxter and the Dane Hans-Kristian Vittinghus. The men's quarter finals took place without German participants. Aswell as the men's double - here we can see a colourful mix: an Indian competes against an Austrian couple and an English one against a Danish couple.