The Hague, Netherlands, January 6, 2018 – Piotr Kantor and Bartosz Losiak retained Polish bragging rights after they beat compatriots Mariusz Prudel and Jakub Szalankiewicz to reach the Dela Beach Open semifinals on Saturday.
Kantor and Losiak won 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) to set up a final against local favourites Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen at the indoor arena at Sportcampus Zuiderpark on Sunday.
The other semifinal will pit Latvia’s Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs against the Netherlands’ Christiaan Varenhorst and Jasper Bouter.
“It was a very tiring match because it was another Polish team and we regularly play one another,” Kantor said. “I think we played a good match and we won.
“We know everything about one another from all the training we’ve done together. There are no secrets between us."
Kantor and Losiak won three silvers on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in 2017 – in Gstaad, Rio de Janeiro and Kish Island.
Both players are 25 and they are continuing to develop after winning their first World Tour gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, when they later returned to the Brazilian city to make their Olympic debut at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.
“It is an early start, but I think it is a good idea to host some tournament indoor like here,” Losiak said. “All the teams are preparing for this season and we are very happy to have started the new year in good form and in the last four.”
Brouwer and Meeuwsen are chasing their first World Tour gold since they opened the 2017 campaign with victory at the Xiamen 3-Star event.
They were unable to finish on the World Tour podium thereafter, but they did manage to win bronze at the 2017 CEV European Championships.
“This was our best game so far here,” Brouwer said. “We are enjoying the energy from the crowd and showing the level we can play with our power beach volleyball.
“We’re looking forward to our semifinal tomorrow. I’m not sure who our opponent is, but I want us to show the same level and we did now, and to play our game.”
“After three matches we got our wins today. Now it’s important to enjoy some rest and be ready for tomorrow.”
Varenhorst and Bouter maintained the crowd’s hopes of there being an all-Dutch final when they knocked out Alex Ranghieri and Marco Caminati with a 2-0 (21-17, 21-16) victory.
They will take on Plavins and Tocs for a place in the gold medal match, after the Latvians beat Canada’s Ben Saxton and Grant O’Gorman 2-0 (21-15, 22-20).
For more information on the tournament, click
here.