Grid of final four completes at the 2012 Shanghai Grand Slam – Volleyball news
Following the successful completion of the Main draw, the 2012 SWATCH FIVB Shanghai Grand Slam entered the final round on Saturday, May 5.
Top four teams of the competition reserved their berths at the semi-final stage. Two tandems from Brazil paved their way to the final four, while they were joined by pairs from China and the Netherlands. The grid of semi-finalists is as follows:
Juliana Felisberta Silva – Larissa France (Brazil) Talita – Antonelli (Brazil) Chen Xue – Zhang Xi (China) Keizer-Van Iersel (the Netherlands)
The dynamic Brazilian duo of Juliana and Larissa worked out a great performance in the Main Draw matches. They appeared in a total of five matched and finished with 4-1 record. They lost their opening match in the tournament but got back on track with back-to-back
win in the next four matches.
In the last match on Friday, Brazilian duo defeated archrival Jennifer Kessy and April Ross from USA. The crucial match spanned over three sets, while Juliana-Larissa emerged successful with 2-1 ratio. Third-seeded Juliana-Larissa moved forward and clinched
the semi-final berth.
The 2nd-seeded Brazilian tandem of Talita and Antonelli also captured huge spotlight in the competition. They started the tournament in Main-Draw and participated in five matches. The two players showed great consistency throughout their matches and completed
the winning streak of five matches. They came across tough teams but no one could hinder their performance.
In the qualifying match on Friday, they downed No. 10 duo of Kolocova and Slukova from Czech Republic. Like their previous matches, they defeated the Czech counterparts in straight sets and marched away with final round ticket.
The top-seeded and pre-favourite of the competition, Chinese duo of Xue-Zhang Xi also clawed its way to the semi-finals with an incredible performance. They rounded off the Main Draw stage with perfect 5-0 record and continued their quest for another SWATCH
FIVB Title in the running season.
Besides their physical strength and game skills, the Chinese duo was equipped with stupendous support of local fans. All of their matches attracted huge number of beach volleyball enthusiasts. The team responded pretty well and delighted home fans with convincing
victories. Xue and Zhang are tipped to win the Shanghai Grand Slam.
The grid of semi-finalists completed with the addition of Dutch pair. Ranked eighth in the tournament, Keizer and Van Iersel qualified for the crucial final round in a dramatic way. They had a very bad start in the campaign as they dropped the opening two
matches.
However, the Dutch pair put up a great struggled and clinched success in next four matches, which allowed them to secure the semi-final spot.
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