8 teams clinch success at Qualification Tournament - 2011 A1 Grand Slam in Klagenfurt – Men
The 2011 SWATCH FIVB A1 Grand Slam Men’s Beach Volleyball Tournament started off in Klagenfurt, Austria on Tuesday, August 2. A total of 77 men’s teams have registered for this edition of the A1 Grand Slam in Klagenfurt Austria. The competition formula remains
the same for the SWATCH FIVB World Tour event and was kicked off with the Country Quota Playoffs on Tuesday.
Germany was the only country featured in the CQ stage this year and there was just one match played. German duo of Dollinger and Windscheif overpowered compatriots Bockermann and Urbatzka in three-set CQ fixture. The successful team advanced to the Qualification
Tournament. One duo qualified for the Qualification Tournament via CQ Playoffs, while 25 other teams were already confirmed for the Qualification Tournament. Only 8 teams were supposed to get the right for playing at the Main-Draw. Hence, the competition was
hard among 26 duos.
The Qualification Tournament was held on Wednesday, August 3, where teams competed for 8 empty slots in the Main Draw. After successful completion of two rounds of Qualification Tournament, following eight duos rose up on the scene:
Renato Gomes/ Jorge Terceiro – Georgia Casey Jennings/ Kevin Wong – United States Alexander Dyachenko/ Alexey Sidorenko – Kazakhstan Rivo Vesik/ karl Jaani – EST Nicolai Paolo/ Daniele Lupo – Italy Martin Laciga/ Jonas Weingart – Switzerland Philip Gabathuler/ Jan Schnider – Switzerland Bruno Oscar Schmidt/ Joao Luis Pianca Maciel – Brazil
Renato Gomes/ Jorge Terceiro
The Georgian duo earned a bye in the first round and came across Canadian tandem in the second round. They defeated Canada’s Redmann and Saxton in two straight sets. It took them just 39 minutes to finish the game. Success enabled Gomes/Jorge to play in
the Main-Draw.
Casey Jennings/ Kevin Wong
American Jennings and Wong also played two matches in Qualification stage. They worked out a great win over Dutch pair that comprised of oBrouwer and Meeuwsen. The match kept both sides busy for 47 minutes but victory graced American team of Jennings and
Wong.
In the next round of the Qualification Tournament, Jennings/ Wong proved their dominance over Spanish team of Mesa and Lario. The U.S. duo was quite impressive in the game and earned a comfortable win over opponents. After finishing the day with an overall
score of 2-0, Jennings and Wong advanced to the 32-team Main Draw stage.
Alexander Dyachenko/ Alexey Sidorenko
Dyachenko and Sidorenko make the only team from Kazakhstan that clawed its way to the Main-Draw stage. They played two matches at the Qualification stage and remained undefeated. They launched authority over rival team from Italy in the first match. The
Italian tandem of Ingross/ Ingrosso P. couldn’t put with the heavy strike of spikes from Kazak side and gave up in just two sets.
In the next encounter with German duo of Dollinger and Windscheif, they did the same treatment. Kazak team dug up success in straights and booked a spot in the Main-Draw.
Rivo Vesik/ karl Jaani
Vesik and Jaani played under the flag of Spain and qualified for the next stage by defeating Chinese and French duos in two rounds of the Qualification stage of 2011 A1 Grand Slam in Klagenfurt.
Nicolai Paolo/ Daniele Lupo
This Italian team was challenged by Canadian and Dutch duos but none of them could bring any harm to their performance. Lupo and Paolo successfully moved to the Main-Draw.
Swiss duos
Laciga/ Weingart of Switzerland breezed past the Portuguese and French teams in the Qualification Tournament and found a place on the roster of 32-team Main-Draw. Likewise, another team from the same country earned the qualification for Main-Draw.
Bruno/ Macial
Brazilian pairing of Bruno and Maciel also tried their luck at the Qualification and won both their matches on Wednesday. Success in the Qualification Tournament allowed them to be featured in the Main-Draw.
Tags: