The Swedish pair were in real trouble against the second-seeded Germans. Qiu and Duda led 2-0 in sets and then had a match point in the fourth set.
But Karlsson and Källberg managed to take the match to a fifth and deciding set, where the drama continued.
The Swedes had their first two match points at 10-8, but the Germans kept the match alive. On the third match point, Karlsson and Källberg sealed the win, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9, 14-12, 12-10.
“Incredibly good doubles, incredibly high level. I’m proud of us. It was really fun to come back from 0-2 against such a skilled pair who are investing a lot in doubles ahead of the Olympics,” Kristian Karlsson told SVT.
Anton Källberg:
“Kristian kept saying at 0-2, ‘We’ll turn this around, we’ll turn this around.’ We believed in it even when it looked tough. We had a tentative start; they were better than us at the beginning, and I wasn’t really keeping up with the game. Then we started playing better and won a few more duels.”
In Friday’s semi-final, they will face either the Belgian pair Adrien Rassenfosse and Martin Allegro or the Romanians Vladislav Ursu and Andrei Putuntica.
Before then, Kristian Karlsson faces a busy Thursday at the European Championships in Ljubljana. At 12:40, he will play the mixed doubles semi-final with Stina Källberg, and tonight he will also play a singles match in the second round.
