Main draw berth for Danish pair Bo Soderberg, Anders Hoyer – 2012 Smart Grand Slam, Rome
Bo Soderberg and Anders Lund Hoyer from Denmark claimed the Main Draw berth at the 2012 Rome Grand men’s beach volleyball tournament by finishing the qualifying round with 2-0 record.
The Danish duo opened the tournament on Wednesday and appeared in two qualifying matches. The pair showed thirst for victory and did exceptionally well in the opening matches. Danish hotshots overpowered opponents from Austria and USA.
In the first match, Soderberg-Hoyer went against Austria’s Thomas Kunert and Lorenz Petutschnig. With better attack and defence, the Danish pair edged out the opponents in only 32 minutes. The match spanned over two sets and ended with the final score of
2-0 (21-14, 21-10). Austrian pair, which was ranked 27thin the tournament, got disqualified whereas the winning tandem of Soderberg-Hoyer entered Round 2 of Qualification Tournament.
Sixth-seeded Soderberg-Hoyer crossed their ways with Brad Keenan and John Mayer from America in the second match. Both teams had won their previous matches and it was a real test of their skills in the second match.
Danish duo was equipped with all necessary tools and tricks of the game. They opened the match on strong footing and promptly went up on the scoreboard. The Americans suffered frequent setbacks and trailed behind. They dropped the opening set with a deficit
of seven points, 14-21. Second set also came successful for Danish team as it posted 21-9 and finished the match in straight sets.
“We just love playing in Rome. Last year was our best ever performance in Rome and here we are in Rome and we’ve made the main draw so we are really happy about that. Now we have to see who we get in the pool games. We like playing in Rome, so I think we
can go far here,” said Soderberg after securing the Main Draw berth.
Likewise, Hoyer added, “It was the first time we’ve played them so we worked on our game plan before the game, but didn’t really know what to expect from them before the game. We are just happy to have beaten them and to be playing in the main draw.”
The Danish duo is determined to attain more success in the coming rounds of the tournament. The Rome Grand Slam, which is the seventh tournament on the men’s FIVB SWATCH World Tour, is scheduled complete its length on June 17. It is the last event in which
the teams will earn world ranking points, in order to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Tags: