MOSCOW, April 2 (R-Sport) - Russia suffered a fifth-straight defeat in the round robin stage of the men's world curling championships on Tuesday, losing to fellow underdog China 6-3.
Skip Andrei Drozdov is yet to taste victory at the event in Victoria, British Columbia, already having succumbed to the Swiss, the Swedes, the Czechs, and the Danes; although two of those losses required a deciding end.
By contrast, Canada's Brad Jacobs has flown out of the blocks with four wins in four - the latest a 7-2 drubbing of Switzerland's Sven Michel - to top the round robin standings; form that threatens to secure a fourth-straight title for the Canadians, what would be their best steak since the mid-90s.
"We’re not looking too far ahead; we are just going to keep playing the way we’ve been playing and hopefully the results keep coming," Canada third Ryan Fry was quoted as saying by the event website.
"We're just going to try to keep backing each other up and hopefully keep making those shots."
Drozdov will look to turn Russia's fortunes in draw nine against Finland's Aku Kauste on Wednesday, with Jacobs meeting Jiri Snitil of the Czech Republic.
China, Sweden and Scotland - the last nation other than Canada to claim the world title - trail the hosts in the standings with four wins and one defeat each.
