\n<\/p>\n
Mouat has beaten Niklas Edin in eight of their last 10 meetings, and the Swede could not disturb that trend high in the Dolomites in northern Italy. <\/p>\n
It continued the Scot’s recovery from his mixed doubles medal disappointment and leaves the Swedes – who lost their opener against the hosts and face another medal contender in Canada next – in a perilous position.<\/p>\n
“All four of us were really shooting well,” Mouat told BBC Sport. “We’ve not trained together for a month so to come back and the flow to be where we want it to be is excellent.”<\/p>\n
These two are arguably the best rinks in the competition, with the Canadians, Italians and Swiss also likely to be in the medal conversation, and this was a high-grade contest.<\/p>\n
However, Mouat, Hammy McMillan, Bobby Lammie and Grant Hardie won the hammer – the right to throw last and, in theory, control the game – and dictated from there on.<\/p>\n
Edin failed to pull off a high-tarriff double takeout in the first end, allowing Mouat to claim two points and establish a lead that the GB rink would keep throughout.<\/p>\n
Missing became a theme for the feted Swedish skip, the 40-year-old repeatedly failing to ask the questions that Mouat posed. As a result, the British team led 4-1 at halfway, and eked that advantage out to 6-2 with three ends remaining.<\/p>\n
Sweden needed something big but could only find something small. They were restricted to one in the eighth and Edin decided he had had enough, offering a hand to Mouat and ending this contest with two ends to spare.<\/p>\n
“Everyone keeps reminding us they beat us in Beijing so we had that motivation,” Hardie told BBC Sport. “They had an off-day and we took advantage of that.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n