Scottish Open 2024: Dunn and MacPherson hold their nerve to go through to the mixed doubles final

Scottish athletes Alexander Dunn and Julie MacPherson faced Christian Faust Kjaer and Maiken Fruergaard of Denmark in the mixed doubles semi-final on Saturday.
The teams have already played each other at the Hylo Open earlier this year in Germany.
Dunn and MacPherson went on to win silver there – and there’s still a chance they could replicate that win on home soil.

They were very evenly matched in the first set, meeting each other point by point. The Danish pair managed to gain a lead by a few points. They reached 11 with the Scots just behind on 8.
The set saw high intensity from both teams with the Danish players maintaining their slight lead. Some slip ups from Dunn and MacPherson saw the gap widen and the Danes reached game point while they were only on 11. A quick strike from Dunn saw them go up a point but the set was soon Kjaer and Fruergaard’s with a score of 21-12.
The Danes continued their lead, opening the second set with four points. Dunn and MacPherson clawed it back and equalised, finding their rhythm and hitting 11 with the Danes on 7.
They maintained their lead safely, making good decisions to leave shuttles going out of play. They soon met game point, with the Danes well behind on 12. The set went to Scotland, 21-13,

Both teams were neck and neck and it was all to play for going into the final set. There was a strong start from both teams, once again meeting one another’s points. The Danish pair gained a slight lead but the Scots caught up and equalised at 10 all. An out of play shuttle from the Danes meant Dunn and Macpherson had the edge and were the first to reach 11 in the third set.
The game grew even more tense as they approached match point. The home crowd’s support spurred on Dunn and Macpherson as they edged ahead of the other team. They securely reached match point with a five point lead, but they gave away some easy points by hitting the net and offside shuttles. However, the pair held their nerve and just won the match, scoring 21-19 in the final set.
As winners they will play Spain’s Ruben Garcia and Lucia Rodriguez in tomorrow’s mixed doubles final. The Spanish pair won their semi-final against England’s Samuel Jones and Annie Lado earlier on Saturday, beating them 21-9, 21-17.