SWATCH FIVB qualifying round sees some underdogs advance
After an eight-week break, the SWATCH Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) World Tour resumed in the Chinese resort city of Sanya on 26 October. Amid stiff competition for the US $190,000 in
prize money, teams from six countries successfully made it through the qualification tournament.
The top four seeded duos advanced, including two teams from Great Britain. Meanwhile, teams from Japan and Ukraine reached the main draw of the SWATCH FIVB World Tour for the first time in their partnerships.
Japan's Takemi Nishibori and Satoko Urata won their first match of the day against opponents from Kazakhstan. Flushed with victory, the 12th seeds then managed to overcome the Brazilian duo, Ana Paula
Henkel and Tatiana Minello, who had won four medals together previously.
Initially, the initiative was with the Brazilians, who snatched the first set 21-15. However, the Japanese team managed to stem the tide, stopping the Brazilian offensive, 21-19. In the tiebreaker, the
outcome was precarious, with Japan having match points at 14-11 only to allow Brazil to draw level. However, the Asian pair eventually prevailed on the fifth match point, winning 17-15, marking the first time the first-year partners have won through to the
main draw after losing in qualifying in seven previous events.
Another Japanese team progressed to the main draw for the first time as partners: Sayaka Mizoe, a 20-year old who will be making her debut in her first ever main draw, and teammate Shinako Tanaka. After
an easy victory over Thailand, the duo won a hard-fought battle against Canada (23-21, 24-22) to earn their spot in the money rounds which begin on Thursday.
The other first-timers in the main draw are the seventh-seeded pair from Ukraine, Svitlana Baburina and Viktoriia Smetaniuk. The Sanya Open is their seventh tournament together and like the aforementioned
Japanese pairs, they had suffered crippling qualifying losses in six prior events. Today was markedly different. Despite dropping the first set each time, the Ukrainians won both their matches against tandems from Australia and Great Britain, making it the
first time a Ukrainian team has reached the main draw since the Phuket event in 2009.
Second-seeded Shauna Mullin and Zara Dampney of Great Britain qualified for the third time this season. Lucy Boulton and Denise Johns joined their countrymen in the main draw. After beating the 30th-seeded
Jiahui Fan and Chang Liu of China in front of a packed stadium following the opening ceremonies, the team went on to eliminate a team from France.
Top-seeded Americans Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hanson, who had to win two matches the day before in the country quota, won their qualifier against German opposition to advance to the main draw. Fourth-seeded
Roos Van der Hoeven and Jantine van der Vlist of the Netherlands also advanced after defeating teams from Venezuela and Canada. The Dutch team is in their second season together and this is their fourth main.
The Canadian ninth seeds, Heather Bansley and Elizabeth Maloney, started their day with a three-set victory over a Russian team. Flushed with success, they punched their ticket to the main draw with a
straight-set victory over the eighth seeded French opponents.
In the main draw, Americans Jen Kessy and April Ross will be looking to avenge last year's title defeat to Switzerland's Simone Kuhn and Nadine Zumkehr, who are not competing this year. Kessy and Ross
will be seeking their second SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal in China this season after winning in Shanghai.
With old rivalries and new upsets, competition at the Sanya Open is certainly heating up.
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