Hasselborg stages second straight comeback win at Co-op Canadian Open
RED DEER, Alta. — Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg earned a second consecutive comeback victory to start the Co-op Canadian Open.
Hasselborg had one second left on her time clock when she connected on a takeout to score two points and lift her club to a 7-6 win over South Korea’s Team Eun-Ji Gim during Draw 5 Wednesday morning at Servus Arena.
It was a deja vu as Hasselborg also had just one second remaining when she scored two in the eighth end Tuesday against Team Eun-Jung Kim of South Korea. That only tied the game, however, and Hasselborg needed to steal the extra end to win 5-4.
“We knew we had a tough start,” Hasselborg said. “Both of the Korean teams are definitely the teams to beat right now and it feels great to beat Gim. They’re playing really solid this season.”
The seven-time Grand Slam women’s champion Hasselborg was up by one early until Gim grabbed a three-ender in the fourth to lead 4-2 heading into the break.
Hasselborg rallied with a deuce in the fifth to tie it followed by a steal in the sixth to briefly pull back ahead, but Gim took two in the seventh to make it 6-5 heading into the dramatic final frame.
“It was a really good game throughout,” Hasselborg said. “We had one bad end where they scored a three, but I think we just put rocks in good places and had a really good last end.
Gim now holds a 1-1 record in round-robin play.
CO-OP CANADIAN OPEN: SCORES / STANDINGS | DRAW SCHEDULE | BROADCAST SCHEDULE
Elsewhere in Draw 5, Team Kim turned the tables and stole the winning point this time to beat Ottawa’s Team Rachel Homan 6-5.
Homan had one second on her time clock in the eighth end and had to make a double bump to get shot rock but nudged it too far.
Both teams are level at 1-1.
Sweden’s Team Isabella Wranå brushed past Team Delaney Strouse of the United States 10-4. Trailing 3-2, Wranå (2-0) took the lead with a three-ender in the fourth then stole five in the fifth to sweep away. Strouse (0-2) settled for a single in the sixth and shook hands.
Team Kaitlyn Lawes scored a key three points in the sixth to beat Team Kate Cameron 7-5 in an all-Winnipeg matchup.
Chelsea Carey, who captured the Canadian Open in 2018, is subbing at skip for Cameron (work commitments) this week.
Team Lawes improved to a 1-1 record while Team Cameron dropped to 0-2.
UP NEXT
The Co-op Canadian Open continues with Draw 6 at 2 p.m. ET / Noon MT.
Broadcast coverage begins Thursday at 2 p.m. ET / Noon MT on Sportsnet, Sportsnet+ (Canada) and gsoclive.com (international).
NOTES
The Co-op Canadian Open is the fourth event of the Grand Slam of Curling season featuring 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the world. … Round-robin play runs through to Friday evening with the best eight teams in both divisions advancing to Saturday’s quarterfinals. If necessary, a tiebreaker round will be played Saturday morning to determine the final playoff berths. … The semifinals are also on tap Saturday with both finals scheduled for Sunday.
