MONCTON, N.B. April 7, 2009 (CCA)— Canada’s Kevin Martin is proving all but unbeatable at the 2009 Ford world men’s curling championship at the Moncton Coliseum.
The reigning world champ, backed up by third John Morris, second Marc Kennedy, lead Ben Hebert, alternate Terry Meek and coach Jules Owchar, won his seventh straight game on Tuesday, taking just six ends to pound Thomas Ulsrud of Norway 9-2.
Canada opened the game with a steal of three in the first end when Ulsrud was heavy on his last-rock draw, then added a deuce in the third and cruise home with the win.
“The guys are curling well,” said Martin, who was scored at 100 per cent in the victory. “Marc must have made, oh, I don’t know how many great shots. That’s the way it goes sometimes; Marc is making everything. Just keep it up. We feel good and we’re enjoying ourselves.”
Norway dropped to 5-2 with the loss, still good enough for sole possession of second place.
In other Draw 11 play, France’s Thomas Dufour continued his impressive run at the Ford worlds with an 8-2 thrashing of Finland’s Kalle Kiiskinen. The French took over a tight game by scoring three in the fourth end and stealing four in the fourth to get to 4-3. Finland took its sixth loss in seven games.
China’s Fengchun Wang, meanwhile, completed a perfect two-win day after enduring a five-game losing streak, beating Jiri Snitil of the Czech Republic 9-3. The Chinese stole four in the fourth end and three more in the seventh on tough misses from Snitil. Both teams carry 2-5 records into Wednesday.
Also, Denmark’s Ulrik Schmidt also had a two-win day, finishing it with an 8-4 win over Yusuke Morozumi of Japan. Denmark, 4-3, stole one in the third end and three more in the fourth to hand Japan its fifth loss in seven games.
John Shuster of the U.S. (4-3), Andy Kapp of Germany (4-3), David Murdoch of Scotland (4-3) and Ralph Stoeckli of Switzerland (3-4) all had byes in Draw 11.
On Wednesday, draws are scheduled for 10 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7:30; TSN will show the Canadian games, at 10 a.m. against Finland and 3 p.m. against the U.S., while curltv.com also will have live coverage.
The top four teams following the conclusion of round-robin play on Thursday night will make the Page playoffs. The first- and second-place teams will play Friday at 7:30 p.m. or Saturday at 10 a.m., depending on potential tiebreakers, with the winner going into Sunday’s 7:30 p.m. championship game on TSN.
The third- and fourth-place teams will play Friday or Saturday for a berth in Saturday’s 4 p.m. semifinal on TSN against the loser of the Page one-two game.