It’s been 11 months since Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Lohau made the quarterfinals on the HSBC BWF World Tour that the Germans had forgotten the tournament they did it at.

That was in October last year, at the Super 750 French Open, where their run was halted in the semis by eventual winners Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong.

At the VICTOR Hong Kong Open 2023 today, Lamsfuss/Lohau hauled themselves back into the quarterfinals with a 21-19 21-18 straight games victory over Indonesians Adnan Maulana/Nita Violina Marwah.

“It’s a big relief (to end the wait). We’ve had a lot of ups and downs but the last one was quite long. I was struggling, body wise, but mentally as well,” admitted Lamsfuss.

The world No.26s had a poor start to the 2023 season, exiting five of the first tournaments in the opening round before a knee injury to Lamsfuss during practice at the Singapore Open in June delayed efforts to regain form.

Lamsfuss had his plica removed in July but suffered further setback when the rehab took longer than expected.

“We were hoping to restart after two weeks but it took seven weeks. We had no practice before the World Championships, we just stepped out to play,” revealed the 29-year-old.

“When I think back to how badly prepared we were for the tournaments because of my knee surgery, this result at that level is quite good.”

Having also suffered Round of 32 defeats at the World Championships and China Open after Lamsfuss returned, Lohau added: “It means a lot to finally win some matches, being in a quarterfinal again.”

In the last eight, Lamsfuss/Lohau go up against Hiroki Midorikawa/Natsu Saito, a pair they defeated in the World Championships first round last year. The Japanese were world No.58s then but have now risen to 18th on the back of stable performances.

“They’ve improved a lot and got more used to the level on the World Tour,” said Lohau. “It will be tough but we are ready. If we keep our mindset and perform, it’s an open match. Let’s see who wins in the end.”

The recovering Lamsfuss concurred.

“Yes, let’s start all over again and see how far we can go.”