SWATCH FIVB 1 to 1 Grand Slam Beach Volleyball Tournament starts in Gstaad
Following the successful completion of five double-gender competitions of beach volleyball this year, the SWATCH FIVB World Tour is making a stop in the Swiss village of Gstaad to feature the 1 to 1 Energy Grand Slam. This will the 12th straight season that Gstaad has been the host of the event as the Energy Grand Slam got started on Tuesday, July 5.
Overall this is the third of six grand slam tournaments planned for 2011. The 2011 1 to 1 will continue until July 10. All matches will be hosted by Alps mountain resort, while playing-courts for women’s and men’s competitions have been designed separately.
The Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) will follow the same formula as other tournaments and will open with the Country Quota playoffs on Tuesday. The second day of the tournament is supposed to feature the Qualification Tournament, which will be followed by 32-team Main Draw stage for the next three days. The one-team elimination bracket will be used, so eight teams will be eliminated on the first day of the Main-Draw. At the end of main draw only 12 teams will play in the quarter-finals. Sunday, the last day of the tournament, will feature the medal matches.
Men’s section
In the men’s section, duos from Germany and Brazil played the Country Quota matches. The fixtures were as followed:
Ferramenta/Pedro vs. Thiago/Harley (Brazil)
Dollinger/Windscheif vs. Böckermann/Urbatzka (Germany)
The Brazilian tandem, Rhooney Ferramenta and Pedro Salgado defeated their compatriots Thiago/Harley by sending 2-1 (21-15, 18-21, 15-12) to the board. It took them 54 minutes to win and advance to the Qualification Tournament on Wednesday.
Likewise, the German team of Böckermann/Urbatzka proved to better team in their CQ match against country-mates Dollinger and Windscheif. The former totally controlled the game and defeated their opponents with 2-0 (21-16, 21-15).
Women’s division
In the women’s category, teams from USA, Germany and Brazil were featured in the CQs on Tuesday, July 5.
American side had just two teams lined up for the Country Quota Playoffs. The duo of Rutledge/Hochevar beat Angie Akers and Nicole Branagh in three sets. They compiled a score of 2-1 (21-19, 15-21, and 16-14) and announced victory.
Brazil’s Taiana Lima-Vivian Cunha got through to Qualification Tournament after beating Lili-Vieira. A total of three Brazilian duos were up for a place in the Qualification Tournament but only one could succeed in doing so.
Borger and Büthe of Germany also advanced from the Country Quota Playoffs to the next stage of the tournament.
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