Norway wins 2-0 over Spain

Defending champions, Norway’s Anders Berntsen Mol and Christian Sandlie Soerum, ensured there would be no fairy-tale farewell for Spain’s Pablo Herrera Allepuz in his sixth and final Olympic Games. He and his partner Adrian Gavira Collado were defeated in straight sets by the Norwegian duo, who powered through the match and into the semi-finals.

The 42-year-old Herrera Allepuz was adamant that for him, this was the end. “I think you have to finish on a high, you have to know when to do it, so I think I have done it well,” he said.

Qatar wins 2-0 over USA

Qatar’s experienced duo of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, who finished with bronze at Tokyo 2020, got the better of Americans Miles Partain and Andrew Benesh, both first-time Olympians with a 2-0 victory.

Benesh felt good about their inaugural Olympic performance, saying, “When you get to the quarterfinals, everyone here is a really class team. We have probably learned more from this tournament than any we have played. That will help us, going forward. We are proud of the way we played.”