Baden, Austria, June 15, 2018 – Austria dominated the first day of the men’s and the women’s main draws at the Baden one-star event on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour with six of their 10 teams qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Others qualifying for the second day were women’s pairs from Germany (two), Latvia, Norway and Ukraine and men’s pairs from Norway (two), Brazil, China and Turkey.
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In Pool A, Austrian favourites Lena Plesiutschnig and Katharina Schuetzenhoefer won against both Japan’s Satono Ishitsubo and Asami Shiba and Latvia’s Marta Ozolina and Agnese Caica. Teresa Mersmann and Cinja Tillmann of Germany dominated in Pool B with wins against Austria’s Franziska Friedl and Nadine Strauss and Slovenia’s Ana Skarlovnik and Tjasa Kotnik.
In Pool C, sisters Ronja and Dorina Klinger defeated Ukraine’s Inna and Iryna Makhno and Germany’s Lisa-Sophie Kotzan and Leonie Klinke. Norwegians Emilie Olimstad and Janne Pedersen were victorious against Katharina Almer and Valerie Teufl and the Swedish duo Kristina Thurin and Susanna Thurin in Pool D.
In the intermediate round, Austria’s Franziska Friedl and Nadine Strauss played against Ishitsubo and Shiba and secured their place in the quarterfinals with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-20) win. Latvia’s Ozolina and Caica, Germany’s Kotzan and Klinke and Ukraine’s Makhno and Makhno (UKR) also made it to the quarters.
Home favourites Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst managed a two-set win against Brazilians Marcio Gaudie and Arthur Mariano Lanci and a tie-breaker victory over Turkey’s Hasan Huseyin Mermer and Safa Urlu in the men’s Pool A. In Pool B, Tobias Winter and Julian Hoerl of Austria won against compatriots Moritz Kindl and Marian Klaffinger in straight sets and overpowered the Turkish team Murat Giginoglu and Volkan Gogtepe in three sets.
Anders Berntsen Mol and Bjarne Nikolai Huus of Norway mastered two clear wins - against Mads Rosager and Kristoffer Abell of Denmark and against Robin Seidl and Philipp Waller of Austria in Pool C. Another home pair, Martin Ermacora and Moritz Pristauz, achieved impressive shutouts of both fellow Austrians Florian Schnetzer and Daniel Muellner and Slovenia’s Danijel Pokersnik and Tadej Bozenk in Pool D.
In a first single elimination round game, Seidl and Waller played against Norwegians Andreas Takvam and Christian Sandlie Sorum. In an exciting, but balanced first set, the Norwegians emerged victorious 21-18. In a less dramatic second set, the Scandinavians stamped another 21-18 win and secured their place in the next round. In the last match of the day on centre court, Schnetzer and Muellner played against Marcio Gaudie and Arthur with the South Americans winning the first set 21-17. The second set was a close affair, setting the scene for an exciting and dramatic money time, with millimetre decisions and big discussions, eventually ending 24-22 to the Brazilian duo. China’s Peng Gao and Yang Li and Turkey’s Mermer and Urlu snatched tie-breaker victories and also advanced to the last eight.