Patrik Kittel and Zepter had only competed together before the World Cup final in Leipzig.
Once there, they broke a personal record during the first day of the Grand Prix.
- I must say to be the second competition with Zepter he was really, really good, you can see a little that the judges are a little uncertain because they did not judge him and there will be a little uneven assessments, but (Carina) Cassöe Krüth is ranked fifth in the world and she has only a few hundredths more.
For a team as young as we actually are, it is really above expectations, says Patrik Kittel to SVT Sport.
When all 17 crews had finished riding, we found Kittel and Zepter in seventh place in the results list.
Impressive considering the star-studded starting field.
- They really got off to a great start together, it was great fun to see them, says SVT's expert Gunilla Byström.
On Saturday night, it continues with freestyle, the free program.
Something that Kittel thinks will suit both him and Zepter better.
- On Saturday I think I can ride a little more, the freestyle is a little more my own thing and I can put it up a little as I want and then I can really ride his real strengths, piaff passages and transitions as he is really, really good at.
I can tighten the bow on Saturday and really ride on then, says Kittel.