The Russian duo of Petr Dron and Victoria Moiseeva were 4-2 ahead by the fourth end break and although the previously undefeated US pushed hard to get back into the game, they ultimately lost out 8-3 to the delight of the home supporters.

The loss demoted the US to joint-second position, which they share with Denmark, who defeated Slovakia 12-2, and Japan, who won 7-2 against defending champions Switzerland.

France picked up their first win of the Championship, beating Australia 9-7, while the Czech Republic secured their second victory of the week, 8-1 against Turkey.

Meanwhile in Group B, Norway and Sweden kept up their flawless records beating Austria, 6-2, and Italy, 10-5,  respectively.

Sweden and Italy were tied at 5-5 going into the final end of their encounter, but a big score settled the game as is so often the case in mixed doubles curling.

Latvia took four points from the first three ends to take control of their match against New Zealand before going on to win 9-1, while Finland came out 11-6 winners against a spirited Slovakia, who notched four points in the sixth end to temporarily bring the score back to 8-6.

Spain and Canada, both previously unbeaten, met in the first of two sessions in Group C knowing the winner would retain top spot.

Canada raced to an early lead, picking up five points in the first end before scoring another four points in the fourth to lead 9-3 by the break, and Spain were unable to force their way back into the game as their opponents went on to win 11-3.

"I thought we played pretty well,” said Canada’s Charley Thomas.

“We made a lot of draws early on plus they had trouble making some of their shots - that's what made the difference."

Canada continued their dominant form in the second session, scoring four points in the fifth end on their way to an 8-2 win against Poland, but they still face an extremely strong challenge from South Korea, who defeated Romania, 12-0, and Spain, 8-5, to make it five wins out of five.

Elsewhere, Estonia recorded back-to-back victories on the day, following up a 9-5 win against Belarus with an 8-7 triumph against Scotland.

This keeps them firmly in the hunt for the play-offs along with Hungary, who defeated Poland, 11-2, before beating England, 13-1.

England preceded that defeat with their first win of the week, 9-8 against Scotland after an extra end, while Romania got off the mark in the second session, overcoming Belarus 7-6.

The round-robin action is due to continue here tomorrow.


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