Pro Tour Elite category tournament in beach volleyball, men, group D: Perušič, Schweiner (Czech Republic) – M. Grimalt, E. Grimalt (Chile), June 1, 2023, Ostrava. From the left, Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner.
Ostrava – At the Pro Tour Elite tournament in Ostrava, beach volleyball players Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner defeated Germany's Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler 25:23, 21:12, scored their second two-set win and advanced directly to the quarterfinals. The domestic women's singles Barbora Hermannová and Mariá-Sára Štochlova have one win and one loss each after today, and they will fight for promotion to the playoffs on Friday. Kryštof Jan Oliva and Tadeáš Trousil lost to the Italians Alexi Ranghieri and Adriano Carambula 20:22, 18:21.
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Photo gallery: Pro Tour Elite in beach volleyball in Ostrava
Perušič and Schweiner first defeated the Chileans Marco and Esteban Grimalto 21:15, 26:24. The winners of the previous elite tournament in Brazil's Uberlandia, who finished second in Ostrava three times in a row, maintained a lead of several points for almost the entire first set and in the end converted the very first set point after a long exchange. The second set was more balanced, in the exciting end of the fourth set, the Czechs avoided four set points and took advantage of the second match point themselves. They avenged last year's final defeat from Gstaad against their Chilean cousins.
The second match of the Czech No. 1s had a similar course. In the first set, both teams battled for the lead, both also created set points. At 24:23, Perušič's accurate technical shot into the free corner of the court decided. After that, the Czechs dominated, after their successful interventions, Wickler angrily threw his cap in the sand.
“The Germans played better most of the first set and had a smaller lead, so it helped us a lot mentally that we won the set in the end. It also affected our opponents, who did not catch the beginning of the second set and then we were able to maintain the lead,” Perušič told ČTK . “We waited a bit to see if we managed to time our form well after Uberlandia. Although there are still a lot of things we need to improve, I think we succeeded relatively well,” added the 28-year-old polar bearer, who praised what he thought was an unusually stormy Thursday atmosphere.
Hermannová and Štochlova, who reached the main competition in the same way as Oliva and Trousil thanks to a wild card, drew against the 2019 world champion Melissa Humana-Paredesová and the silver medalist from last year's World Championships Brandie Wilkersonová. They messed up a lot, so the Canadians easily won the match for their second victory in a ratio of 21:15, 21:17.
“After the loss, we will go to bed a little disappointed, but I think it's a great balance,” said Štochlová. “The Canadian women are seeded higher than us, so we were more likely to surprise. We regret that we did not play the morning volleyball, because it could have been much more intense and exciting. Anyway, we are satisfied that we have one win at all, which will most likely move us to play off. That would be an amazing result for us,” Hermannová added.
In the first match, Hermannová and Štochlova defeated Agatha and Rebecca 28:26, 21:11. At the end of the first set against the experienced Brazilians, they overcame a three-point deficit and in a dramatic ending, thanks to Hermann's two aces, they converted the fifth set point, while they saved four.
The second set was already a clear affair for Hermannová and Štochlova, who took 13th place last year at their joint premiere start in Ostrava. The fourth-seeded Brazilians, on the other hand, failed to return after the maternity break of 39-year-old Agatha, the world champion from 2015.
The promising Oliva and Trousil kept pace with the much more experienced Ranghieri and Carambula for most of the match. Several times they were able to erase the deficit, but the Italians did not allow them to build up a lead. The tight first set was decided by the Italian block.
“There weren't many balls, especially in the first set, when we played with them with the closest possible difference, even over twenty. There, it was enough to play one ball a little better, a little more to the left or right,” said Trousil. “We are happy for this experience, next time maybe we will be more prepared for it and it will lead us to victory,” Oliva added.
Pro Tour Elite category beach volleyball tournament in Ostrava:
Men:
Group C:
Ranghieri, Carambula (3-It.) – Oliva, Trousil (11-ČR) 2:0 (20, 18).
Group D:
< strong>Perušič, Schweiner (4-CR) – M. Grimalt, E. Grimalt (12-Chile) 2:0 (15, 24), Perušič, Schweiner – Ehlers, Wickler (5-Germany) 2:0 (23, 12).
Women:
Group D:
Hermannová, Štochlová (12-ČR) – Agatha, Rebecca (4-Braz.) 2:0 (26, 11), Humanaová-Paredesová, Wilkersonová (13-Can.) – Hermannová, Štochlová 2:0 (15, 17).
