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We don't know the US very well, but we have respect.

From nine o'clock, on runway D, through the yellow stones. The U.S. team led by skip Sinclair, who missed out on participation in the Winter Olympics by one draw, aspires to finish in the top six at this year's Women's World Championships. An extremely evenly matched match culminates with the tenth end tied with the American women's advantage. We manage to keep the guard in a good position in front of the circles and Anna gets the opportunity to play her first stone towards the middle, in a position where the stone will be fully covered by the guard. A little bit of a switch and the US takes a time-out. Scott Baird recommends playing the hit stone near the middle, fearing that the American might not be able to get there anymore. Sinclair plays a quieter hit that doesn't keep the throwers in line and ends up rubbing lightly on the guard. We take the time-out and after a brief consultation, we choose basically the same stone as Anna's first. Again, a completely accurate weight and the stone arrives in an excellent position towards the centre. Sinclair has about 30 cm to place her stone in the best position. It's a little wider and the throwers still pull the stone a little out of direction. Stone probably has good speed but doesn't touch. He finishes on the tee line and Betsy helps him out a little bit. It's slightly behind the tee line and off the centre line. We're better with one of the stones, so we win. A quick calculation says we're very close to being in the playoffs, but it's not a sure thing. A win over Japan in the last one will definitely put us there, but we still have other circumstances in play that could help us if we lose. It's really messed up. photo: team Sinclair