The 2010 Phuket Open Tournament starts with the American Country Quota stage
After the successful completion of the Sanya Open Tournament in China, the SWATCH FIVB World Tour has reached the 2010 season’s final stage. The Phuket Open Tournament in Thailand will put an end to the seasonal activity on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Calendar.
The tournament started off with the country quota matches of American duos on Tuesday, the 2nd of November, 2010 and the action will continue till the weekend. The tournament is opened with the country quota playoff, which promoted the teams in
the qualifying round. Afterwards, the main draw stage will be covered and the champion of the Phuket Open Tournament will be revealed on Sunday, the 7th
of November, 2010 with the completion of the “final four” matches.
Note: If a country has more than 4 teams in an event, it has to go through the country quota phase.
The United States was the only country involved in the country quota matches in the Sanya Open Tournament last week and once again American pairs are the only ones playing the country quota playoffs in Phuket Open Tournament.
Ivy/Rutledge beat Jaimi Gregory/Brittany Hochevar (21-12, 21-18)
The tournament was opened with the spectacular performance of Ivy/Rutledge and Gregory/Hochevar of America. The players on both sides of the net seemed confident about their preparations. The duo of Gergory and Hochevar had the competitive edge though as
they beat their opponents at the Sanya Open Tournament last week. Gergory/Hochevar looked determined to clutch a victory against Ivy/Rutledge.
On the other hand, Ivy/Rutledge had something else on their minds. They were all up for redemption. They learned a lot from their last experience and had a better strategy this time. The match started off with an exchange of powerful shots from both sides.
Ivy was on serve and did justice to her role. She made a strong opening and signaled the opposing team to watch out for a tough competition. Rutledge complemented her partner by producing wonderful spikes and both players added early points to their score
line.
Gergory and Brittany couldn’t grasp the game plan of their counter-parts and suffered a set back. Ivy/Rutledge picked up the lead and further stretched the gap of points by hard-hitting. They paved their way to success in the first set by achieving 21-12.
After dropping the first set, Gergory/Brittany changed their approach and attacked from the back court area. They hit superb shots but Ivy/Rutledge defended strongly and didn’t allow them to raise their score. Gergory/Brittany fought well but couldn’t avoid
the chances of defeat. They lost the second set with a difference of three points at 18-21. Ivy/Rutledge took sweet revenge and claimed match victory in the first country quota match.
Hanson/Fendrick vs. Hunkus/Heather 2-1 (17-21, 21-10, and 15-12)
The second match of the day featured Brooke Hanson/Lauren Fendrick and Tealle Hunkus/Heather Lowe. The duo of Hanson/Fendrick had a good reputation going into the match as they did well in the last event of the Sanya Open in China.
The match started on a strange note. Hunkus/Heather didn’t take any pressure from the stronger side and played exquisitely. They added quick points by delivering spikes at lightning speed and tricky bump-passes provided them with an extra edge. Hanson and
Fendrick spent time to get an idea of the rival side. They saved a few points by blocking over the net but Hunkus/Heather bagged consecutive points to finish the first set with a 21-17 victory.
The following set was the turn of the protagonists. The fired up Hanson and Fendrick hit back and stormed the court with ground-breaking shots. Hunkus/Heather lost momentum and couldn’t stand on their feet. It seemed as if revenge was the order of the second
set. Hanson/Fendrick made a great comeback and tied the match at 1-1 by capturing second set (21-10).
The game entered the 15-point golden set and both teams demonstrated a stellar performance. However, victory graced Hanson and Fendrick as they snatched the third set from Hunkus/Heather by posting 15-12. The duo of Hanson and Fendrick qualified for the
next match with Ivy/Rutledge.
Tags: