Brazil and Italy rule Pool J in first round of Main Draw – A1 Grand Slam in Klagenfurt
After covering the early two stages, the SWATCH FIVB A1 Grand Slam Men’s Beach Volleyball Tournament entered the Main-Draw stage on Thursday, August 4, in Klagenfurt, Austria. A total of 77 men’s teams were registered for the tournament and some of them
had to start with the Country Quota Playoffs, while others took centre stage on the second day in the Qualification Tournament. The successful teams in the Qualification Tournament clawed their way to the Main-Draw. However, Only eight teams advanced to the
Main-Draw via Qualification Tournament. Besides, 32 pairs directly started the campaign in Main-Draw duetheir better seeding and ranking points.,
Basically, the Main-Draw stage features 32 teams, which have been further classified into 8 pools. Main-Draw is supposed to complete its run on Friday, August 5. At the end of Main-Draw, the grid of eight teams will be finalised with the pool toppers. The
day 1 matches have been successfully covered on Thursday. There are four teams in Pool J, which are competing for one empty slot in the next round of the tournament.
Pool J is comprised of following four duos:
Emanuel/ Alison – Brazil Huber/ Seidl – Austria Nummerdor/ Schuil – Netherlands Nicolai/ Lupo – Italy
The opening day of the Main-Draw featured four matches in Pool J. Duos from Brazil and Italy dominated the other two teams in the group. Italian team finished the day without losing any set and they have better chances to qualify for the top-8 round.
Top-seeded duo of Emanuel and Alison broke the ice in first match of the day. They faced off Austrian 32nd –seeded team of Huber and Seidl. The Austrian competitors were quick to surprise the Brazilian team in first set. They exhibited a good
performance and claimed set-1 with a margin of 2 points. However, Emanuel/ Alison found their real form in the following sets and closed the match by winning two consecutive sets.
In their next match, Emanuel/ Alison were challenged by Netherlands’ 17th –seeded Nummerdor and Schuil. The charged up Brazilian influenced the opponents and didn’t allow them raise heads. The match ended in two straight sets, while Emanuel/ Alison
emerged as winners of the contest. Hence, the Brazilian team accumulated the overall score of 2-0 at the end of the day.
Following the footsteps of Brazilian team, Nicolai and Lupo of Italy worked an amazing win over Dutch duo of Nummerdor and Schuil. It was the second match of the day and it was most essentially dominated by Italian side. Dutch team tried to stay in the court
but couldn’t sustained the pressure and dropped the match in two sets.
Italian tandem continued with success in the next match and launched their power on Austrian pair. 16th-seeded Nicolai and Lupo had tough competition with Huber/ Seidl in the first set. Nonetheless, Italians managed to hold them off. Austrian
side lost momentum in second set and became irresistible, which benefitted Italy.
There are just two games left in Pool J to be played on Friday, August. Emanuel/ Alison of Brazil will take on Italy’s Nicolai and Lupo. All eyes are set on this match as it will decide on the qualifier of next round.
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