Karlsson and Källberg struggled in the round of 16 in Ljubljana, but the Swedish table tennis pair ultimately won 11–9, 9–11, 11–8, 15–13 against Marcos Freitas and Tiago Apolonia.
The Portuguese pair had four set points in the fourth set to force a deciding game, but Karlsson and Källberg saved them all and then won on their second match point.
Tough opposition awaits in the quarterfinals: second-seeded Germans Dang Qiu and Benedikt Duda.
The newly formed pair of Elias Ranefur and Truls Möregårdh were knocked out by Esteban Dorr and Florian Bourrassaud. The Swedes won the first set, but the French pair then took three straight sets for a 3–1 victory.
“We are doing the best we can with the few conditions we have been given,” Möregårdh told SVT.
In the women’s doubles, it’s all over for Stina Källberg and Filippa Bergand, who also lost 1–3 to Germany’s Nina Mittelham and Annett Kaufmann.
The main singles tournament begins this afternoon. Möregårdh is the biggest hope there, and he starts against Dutchman Ivan Kahn.
