Hall and MacPherson flew the Scottish flag to the semi-finals of the German Open

As the season begins to hot up, some of Scotland’s top international players were out in Mulheim this week for the 2022 YONEX Gainward German Open.

The standout performance came from Adam Hall and Julie MacPherson who had a tournament to be proud of, making a deep run in the mixed doubles draw.

The duo didn’t put a foot wrong in the early rounds, producing some high-quality performances, including a 21-17, 21-19, second round win over England’s Callum Hemming and Jessica Pugh, who won the 2021 Scottish Open title.

And when Indonesia’s Adnan Maulana and Mychelle Crhystine Bandaso were defeated in a closely contested deciding set on Friday, Hall and MacPherson looked capable of beating anyone.

The pair were playing way above their 51st world ranking position and got through, 21-17, 14-21, 21-18 to reach the last four.

In the semi-finals, World Championship gold medallists Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai stood between Hall and MacPherson and a chance of a BWF World Tour Super 300 final.

The Thai team, seeded first, ended hopes of a Scottish crown by progressing after with a 21-11, 21-17 win, despite a brave effort from Hall and MacPherson, particularly in a closely fought second set.

MacPherson also picked up a big in the women’s doubles alongside Ciara Torrance.

They produced a brilliant display in the first round to knock-out eighth seeds Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan, 21-17, 21-14.

Another Malaysian team of Vivian Hoo and Lim Chiew Sien, edged a close second round match that went the distance, finishing 21-14, 19-21, 21-16. But it was still a positive week for Torrance and MacPherson.

Kirsty Gilmour led the singles charge as she made her return to the world circuit for the first time since the 2021 BWF World Championships in December.

She was handed a tough first-round match up against Supanida Katethong, recent runner-up at the India Open and climbing inside the world’s top 30 rankings.

Katethong took the opener by five points, but Gilmour rallied with an excellent performance in the second game, winning nine consecutive points on her way to levelling the match.

That took it to a decider but it was the Thai player who advanced after edging a close set, progressing 21-16, 11-21, 21-18.

It was a similar story in the men’s doubles for 2021 Scottish Open champions the Grimley brothers, Matthew and Chris.

They were up against Danish fifth seeds and 2018 European champions, Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen.

The Grimleys put up a strong fight, and managed to push the tie to a third game only to eventually go down, 21-13, 17-21, 21-11.

Elsewhere, Alex Dunn and Hall were also back in action in an all-British first round clash with Ben Lane and Sean Vendy.

The English team had the edge on the big points and despite a closely-fought match on court 1, they progressed 21-16, 21-19.

But both Hall and Dunn, and the rest of the Scottish team, will now look to regroup and push towards a big run in the YONEX All England Open next week.