The SWATCH FIVB World Tour Calendar 2010: Overview of the men’s beach volleyball activity- Episode 1
The SWATCH FIVB World Tour has presented enough beach volleyball action in the current season. The season 2010 has highlighted 12 double-gender and 3 separate gender competitions up till now. A total of 15 events on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Calendar successfully completed their run and revealed the champions.
The Brasilia Open, Brazil (20-25 April, 2010)
The season was opened with double-gender event, the Brasilia Open Tournament, which was held in Brazil. The men’s competitions started after women’s Country Quota Playoffs, as most of the tournaments were scheduled to lag behind women’s tournament with a gap of one day. In the first tournament, top-seeded American pair of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers qualified for the gold medal match against Alison Cerutti and Eamnuel Rego of Brazil. The U.S. pair settled down for the first-place in the tournament, while Alison/Emanuel finished as runner-up team. Another Brazilian pair comprising of Benjamin Insfran and Bruno Oscar Schmidt pulled off victory in the bronze medal contest and attained third position.
The Shanghai Open, China (3-8 May, 2010)
In the month of May, the game moved to South Asian country China, which hosted the Shanghai Open Championship. It was also double-gender competition but men started first in that particular game. Shanghai Open revealed new champions of the gold and silver medals. The Brazilians made their mark in the game and captured the 1st and 3rd spot. Pedro Salgado and Harley Marques picked up the final victory and secured the top spot, while German Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann appeared on the scene as silver medallist pair. Alison and Emanuel, who finished second in Brasilia open, lost one spot and finished in third-place.
Foro Italico Beach Volleyball Grand Slam, Italy (18-23 May, 2010)
Italy became the centre of attention when it hosted the Foro Italico Beach Volleyball Grand Slam Championship in second-last week of May. The battle was on for the first Grand Slam title featured on SWATCH FIVB World Tour Calendar 2010. The tournament started off with men’s Country Quota matches. Afterwards it followed the set pattern and covered the Qualification Tournament and Main Draw stages. Four outstanding teams paved their way to the “final four” matches of the tournament. The Americans were back on the scene and Brazilian Alison/Emanuel also qualified for the gold medal match. The final fight was dominated by U.S. Dalhausser and Rogers who captured their second gold-medal. The Spanish pair of Pablo Herrera and Adrian Gavira achieved their first big achievement in 2010 season and claimed third position.
The Myslowice Open, Poland (25-30 May, 2010)
The fourth event on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Calendar greeted beach volleyball teams in Poland. The Myslowice Open Championship started off on 25th May 2010. It was a separate gender activity and only featured men’s game. The Polish sands favoured the American Dalhausser and Rogers one more time and they advanced to the final round. The amazing duo extended their winning streak with another title at Myslowice Open, Poland. The German Herrera and Gavira took one step forward and achieved second spot in the ranking. On the other hand, Brink and Reckermann of Spain played bronze medal match and claimed victory.
The Grand Slam Moscow (8-14 June, 2010)
In the next episode, the SWATCH FIVB made a stop at Russia for another Grand Slam Tournament. The Russian capital Moscow was rocked with presence of international teams and scores of fans who gathered to witness the great competition. The Moscow Grand Slam tournament provided an opportunity to the Neighbour country China to make a difference. Penggen Wu and Linyin Xu displayed an exceptional set of beach volleyball skills and left everyone behind in the game. The Chinese pair successfully captured gold-ware by pushing Dalhausser and Rogers behind. The Spanish Brink and Reckermann finished with the same results and contended with third-place in Moscow Grand Slam tournament.
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