Muirhead still in hunt after surprise loss

Perthshire curler Eve Muirhead suffered a surprise defeat at the Masters Grand Slam tournament in Lloydminster, Canada, last night, but Great Britain’s Olympic skip can still reach this weekend’s quarter-finals.

Muirhead and her team had already won their opening two Pool A fixtures after going to an extra end to beat both Russian Anna Sidorova and the defending Masters champion Allison Flaxey.

American Jamie Sinclair is the least heralded player in the group but handed the Scot an unexpected 6-4 loss.

Muirhead must now win her final round-robin match against Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg to guarantee her quarter-final spot.

Meanwhile, Perth’s Olympic skip Kyle Smith was brutally honest after suffering another 7-6 defeat at the tournament.

Smith went down bravely to Canadian world champion Brad Gushue in his opening Pool B match, but despite losing by the same score to Norwegian legend Thomas Ulsrud, the scoreline flattered the Scot this time.

The former world junior gold medallist quickly fell 6-1 behind and only a late Smith rally made the result look closer than it really was.

“That was a poor performance and it means we must win our next two games to have any chance to qualify,” said Smith, who next plays American John Shuster.