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Jones edges Sinclair in extra during Masters quarters

LLOYDMINSTER, Sask. — Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones escaped with a frantic 5-4 extra-end victory over American Jamie Sinclair during the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling Masters women’s quarterfinals Saturday.

The 2014 Olympic gold medallist held the hammer in overtime and made a great hit and roll with her first skip stone to grab shot rock by a hair. Jones didn’t need to throw her last though as Sinclair came up tight on top.

Team Jones took the top seed in the bracket with a 4-0 round-robin record. Team Sinclair went 2-2 and needed a tiebreaker win over Russia’s Anna Sidorova late Friday.

Jones opened with hammer and had an open draw for two in the first when Sinclair’s last over-curled and locked right on her own guard. It was a missed opportunity though as Jones’ shot rolled heavy and she had to settle for just the single.

After Jones planted a near-perfect freeze right on the button, Sinclair threw a heater by to nudge it but didn’t kick it far enough as a close measurement around the lid led to a steal.

Sinclair drew for one in the third against a triangle of counters and just hit the brakes in time. The reigning U.S. champion made a great come-around shot in the fourth and Jones gave up the steal to tie it 2-2 as her shooter sailed through the house untouched.

It looked like the momentum had shifted as Jones then faced a trio of Sinclair stones in five, but she made the save with a high-pressure draw past the guards and to the side of the four-foot circle to take a 3-2 lead.

Sinclair knotted it back up in six bumping Jones’ stone off of the button for one.

Jones attempted a difficult split runback in seven but only got one to go up 4-3 as the other rolled away. With one counter in the 12-foot circle in eight, Sinclair opted to throw a risky in-turn hit to force an extra end.

Jones will take on Anna Hasselborg of Sweden in the semifinals. Hasselborg, ranked No. 1 in the world, powered up to eliminate Casey Scheidegger of Lethbridge, Alta., 6-1. With the score tied, Hasselborg scored a deuce in the fifth, stole two in the sixth and another point in seven.

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Meanwhile, Kerri Einarson and her Winnipeg team continued their red-hot run advancing with a 7-3 win over Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland. Einarson, who won the Tour Challenge Tier 2 title to earn a spot in the Masters, posted a 4-0 record in round-robin play to secure the No. 2 seed in the bracket.

Opening with hammer, Einarson scored three in the second end and had Tirinzoni chasing early. The teams alternated pairs of points in three and four as Einarson reclaimed the three-point advantage. Tirinzoni was forced to a single in five and Einarson extended her lead with another deuce in six. It was handshakes in seven as Tirinzoni looked at five Einarson rocks and opted to concede early.

Einarson will now play Scotland’s Eve Muirhead, who scored two in the seventh and stole one in the eighth to complete the comeback and oust Alina Paetz of Switzerland 5-4.

The men’s quarterfinals see Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., face Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen, defending champ Niklas Edin of Sweden against Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers, Calgary’s Kevin Koe clashing with Winnipeg’s Jason Gunnlaugson and Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., versus Peter de Cruz of Switzerland.

Watch on Sportsnet at 5 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. MT and online at Sportsnet NOW (Canada) or gsoc.yaretv.com (international) followed by the semifinals at 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT on Sportsnet 360.

Jan. 14-19, 2025 Sleeman Centre Guelph, ON