ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Team Anna Hasselborg is back in the Grand Slam of Curling and back in the win column to start the Kioti National.
The Swedish squad scored a 7-3 victory over Winnipeg’s Team Kaitlyn Lawes during Draw 2 Tuesday at the Mary Brown’s Centre.
Hasselborg, who has won seven Grand Slam titles, skipped the Co-op Canadian Open earlier this month to train for the European Curling Championships where her team earned silver medals. Second Agnes Knochenhauer also missed the HearingLife Tour Challenge in October as she was attending her sister’s wedding and serving as the toast madame.
"I’ve had a little bit of FOMO for not being here for the last two Slams," Knochenhauer said. "It feels so good, and I’m really pumped just to be able to go out here with this super nice crowd and in this great arena. To be back in the Slams feels amazing."
After giving up a single steal to start, Hasselborg bounced back big time taking two in the second and stealing two in the fourth as Lawes was light on her last.
Lawes recovered in the fifth with a bump and roll for a pair of points to close the gap to 4-3.
Hasselborg had to settle for a single in the sixth but stole two more points in the seventh and ran Lawes out of rocks in the eighth.
Lawes was making her GSOC return from maternity leave after giving birth to her second daughter Ella on Nov. 1. Third Selena Njegovan moved up to skip while Lawes was away during the Co-op Canadian Open.
"It feels really nice just to get a good read of the ice and get a good feeling of how to make the shots," Knochenhauer said. "Of course, it’s super important for us to start off with a win to get a really good feeling."
Kioti National on Sportsnet
The Grand Slam of Curling season continues with the Kioti National. Watch live coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ from Thursday through to Sunday's finals.
Broadcast Schedule
Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa scored three in the eighth end to beat Switzerland’s Team Xenia Schwaller 8-5.
Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni downed Japan’s Team Momoha Tabata 7-2 and South Korea’s Team Eun-ji Gim doubled up on Japan’s Team Sayaka Yoshimura 6-3.
Team Gim is playing short-handed without lead Ye-eun Seol and alternate Ye-ji Seol due to a family emergency.
UP NEXT
Round-robin play continues with Draw 3 at 3 p.m. NT / 1:30 p.m. ET.
Broadcast coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ begins Thursday at noon NT / 10:30 a.m. ET.
NOTES
The Kioti National is the third Grand Slam of Curling event of the season featuring 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the world. … Round-robin play runs through to Friday. The top eight teams in both divisions advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. If necessary, one tiebreaker draw will be played Saturday morning to determine the final playoff teams. … The semifinals are also scheduled for Saturday with both finals on tap Sunday.
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