Kristine Mauritzen pulled off a major upset in the quarter-final of the Aspen Bermuda Women’s Match Racing Regatta in Hamilton Harbour yesterday.

The Danish helmswoman edged rival Julia Aartsen, of the Netherlands, 3-2 in the best-of-five series contested in lighter breeze.

Aartsen was the firm favourite heading into the match having topped the standings in the round-robin phase of the regatta with an impressive 6-1 record but she found herself on the brink of elimination after Mauritzen took the first two races to move to match point.

Aartsen fought back courageously and won the next two races to level the score and set the stage for a dramatic and fifth and deciding race, which Mauritzen won to finally seal victory.

It was a particularly special day for Danish sailors as Mauritzen’s compatriot, Lea Vogelius, advanced to the semi-final in similar fashion having also shrugged off a 2-0 deficit to edge New Zealand’s Megan Thomson 3-2 in another thrilling quarter-final.

Comebacks were not in short supply as Sweden’s Anna Östling also rallied from the brink of elimination to pip Australian Juliet Costanzo 3-2 in their quarter-final match.

“We were clearly under pressure after they took the first two races and I am relieved and happy,” Östling, last year’s Women’s World Match Racing Tour champion, told The Royal Gazette.

“We said in our team that we only needed to win three races and it didn’t matter if we win the first three or the last three.

“We’ve done that before so we trust what we know and I think we stepped up a little in the last three races so very, very happy. We were sailing confident and not disturbed by being down two points.

“For sure a very good quarter- inal and practice for the coming day.”

France’s Pauline Courtois was the only sailor to have things all her own way with a convincing 3-0 win over England’s Sophie Otter in the remaining quarter-final match.