News National

CONCEPTION BAY SOUTH, N.L. — Anna Hasselborg and her Swedish squad picked up where they left off in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling.

Hasselborg, who captured her third GSOC title at last month’s KIOTI Tractor Tour Challenge, opened in the win column at the Boost National with a 6-2 victory over Japan’s Team Sayaka Yoshimura during Wednesday morning’s action at CBS Arena.

The reigning Olympic gold medallists Team Hasselborg started with the hammer and jumped out to a 4-0 lead at the break with a deuce in the second end followed by a steal of two in the fourth.

Yoshimura, who finished runner-up at the Masters in October, got on the board with a single in the fifth but Hasselborg tacked on another two points in the sixth. After Yoshimura was limited to another lone point in seven, the teams shook hands early.

Team Hasselborg also recently completed a successful title defence at the European Championships on home ice.

Elsewhere in the second draw, Switzerland’s Team Elena Stern stopped Team Robyn Silvernagle of North Battleford, Sask., 7-6 in an extra end.

In men’s play, Team Bruce Mouat of Scotland defeated Winnipeg’s Team Mike McEwen 6-4, Team Peter de Cruz of Switzerland beat world No. 1 Toronto’s Team John Epping 8-3 and Japan’s Team Yuta Matsumura topped Switzerland’s Team Yannick Schwaller 6-3.

Boost National action continues at 12:30 p.m. local time. Broadcast coverage begins Thursday at 11 a.m. ET on Sportsnet and streaming online via Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).

Round-robin play runs through to Friday with the top eight teams overall in both divisions qualifying for the weekend playoffs.

NOTES: The Boost National is the third event and second major of the 2019-20 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season featuring 15 of the top men’s teams and 15 of the top women’s teams from around the world. … A $300,000 combined purse is on the line, split equally between both divisions, with the winners receiving $35,000 each plus berths to the season-ending Humpty’s Champions Cup in Olds, Alta. … Teams also earn points towards the Pinty’s Cup awarded to the season champions following the conclusion of the Players’ Championship in April.