Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
Impressive Italy has clinched a semifinal berth.
Italy held on to first place at 6-0 as Canada and USA battled in the closing draw of day four in Beijing.
The second-ever Olympic mixed doubles curling show is working its way towards the playoffs, and patterns are emerging. 
2018 medallists Switzerland (2-4) and Norway (3-3) have been struggling, while Australia’s early heartbreakers have had a devastating (0-7) effect.
China and the Czech Republic (2-4) enjoyed hot starts but have cooled off.
World bronze medallists Sweden (5-2) have looked rocky at times, but have too much talent in the broom bag. Their 6-2 win over Canada in session eight proved that.
Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Italy are proving to be a well-oiled and methodical curling machine. They battled world champions Great Britain (4-2) on Saturday night and defeated them 7-4, with Stefania Constantini making a wonderful lovely down-weight hit for three in the seventh end to break a 4-4 deadlock.
With Great Britain threatening to tie the score in the eighth and force an extra end, Constantini threw her final stone with just seconds to go and removed the threat.
The Italians were outshot by the Brits 85% to 74% but, as fans know, mixed doubles is all about the big shots, particularly late in the match.
Constantini and teammate Amos Mosaner are simply loving their curling lives—and why not? They’ll face China and Sweden on Sunday, having already wrapped up a berth in the semifinals.
“It’s not easy to think about, because I didn’t expect six games without losing,” said Mosaner. 
Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
Meanwhile, traditional curling power Canada and dark horse playoff pick USA locked horns on Saturday night.
The first half of the match was tight on the scoreboard. Both teams swapped singles throughout, with neither team establishing itself over the other. After the fifth-end break, however, Canada scored all the points—stealing one if the fifth end, another in the sixth and a huge three in the fourth. The gloves came out to mark Canada’s 7-2 victory.
Canada’s Rachel Homan and John Morris are now tied for third with Great Britain at 4-2. 
USA’s Vicky Persinger and Chris Plys defeated China 7-5 earlier in the day, and sit tied for fifth place with Norway at 3-3.
Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
Sweden had the night draw off.
“I’m happy with our performances today, making a lot of shots and making it tough for our opponents,” said Oskar Eriksson. “That’s the key to mixed doubles, it’s tough to make every shot, so … just put the pressure on.”

source