Phil Dalhausser, Todd Rogers win 2011 Brasilia Open – Beach Volleyball news
The first event of the regular season of beach volleyball, the 2011 Brasilia Open recently rounded off and revealed the winners of the competition of both categories.
The women’s final showdown was staged on Friday, where home duo of Juliana and Larissa seized the title. On the other hand, the men’s competition reached it final stage on Saturday, April 24. The reigning world champions, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers
of U.S. were challenged by 5th-seeded Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego of Brazil in the final encounter.
The former proved to be better and launched their authority on the local duo in straight sets. Dalhausser/Rogers posted 21-18 and 21-13 on board and got hold of the first gold medal of the 2011 season.
The 2011 Brasilia Open was staged in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and it continued from April 17-23. A total of 61 men’s and 79 women’s duos showcased their amazing skills on the centre court, while only the best teams settled for top slots. The women’s side was
dominated by Juliana and Larissa, while Dalhausser and Rogers launched their authority in the men’s division.
The match was opened with huge noises and cheers from the fans in totally packed up arena. There were a great number of local spectators, who had come to support the local team. However, American hotshots hit the mark with early points and earned a strong
spot in the game. Meanwhile, the duo of Emanuel/Cerutti resisted in full force and struggled to cope with the power of opponents. They were backed up by the passionate fans.
The Brazilian side worked out nice shots and remained hand in hand with Americans. The score tied frequently and the point-to-point battle continued until the end. After many twists and twirls, Dalhausser and Rogers proved too good for first-set win with
21-18 on board.
The Brazilian team hit back strongly in following set and scored the first point of the set. The local duo seemed determined to cover the deficit of previous set but the Americans proved to be a tough nut to crack. They added five consecutive points and
built a strong lead of 11-5.
Dalhausser did not miss any chance to hit the ball in right spot, while Rogers did a great job at killing opponents’ spikes. They restricted the Brazilian side to a low score and claimed second set (21-13). The American team settled for gold-ware at the
2011 Brasilia Open.
Todd Rogers shared his thoughts after the match and stated, “We love playing in Brazil, the fans are the best in the world and the Brazilian teams are the toughest to beat match in and match out. We played them two days ago in a match that turned out to
be much closer, but they are a great team and they made more errors than we did and that turned out to be the difference.”
Emanuel also expressed his views after the match and said, “We had a great week here in Brasília. We played at our best level, which makes us very happy, especially because of the one year of preparation for an Olympic slot. I want to thank Rogers and Dalhausser
for coming here and playing against us because it raises our level. Today they were able to neutralize our game, especially our offense.”
The top-seeded American duo has opened the 2011 season on a good note. They pulled off tremendous amount of success in the 2010 Season as they captured nine out of 12 men’s titles. They maintained their dominance and added another SWATCH title to their tally.
It was 30th time in their career that they played in the ‘final four’ stage of the tournament. On the other hand, Alison and Emanuel are regarded as younger side as they formed partnership, just two seasons back.
The Brazilian duo has so far appeared in their fourth gold medal match in the short span of their career. They have long road ahead of them and they are expected to create huge buzz in the upcoming events.
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