Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 1, 2019 – Three German pairs won their respective pools, clearing two match hurdles on the first day of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Port Dickson Beach Open main draw tournament on Wednesday.
Second seeds Karla Borger and Julia Sude aced their first match with a 2-0 (21-11, 21-14) win over Czech Republic’s Sara Olivova and Karolina Rehackova, then prevailed under pressure against France’s Alexandra Jupiter and Aline Chamereau 2-1 (19-21, 21-17, 15-10) to win Pool B.
Defending Olympic and world champion Laura Ludwig and partner Margareta Kozuch played solid straight-set wins against Ukraine’s Inna and Irina Makhno 2-0 (21-19, 21-13) and Norway’s Ingrid Lunde and Oda Johanne Ulveseth 2-0 (21-12, 21-16) to win Pool D.
In Pool C, Victoria Bieneck and Isabel Schneider endured their three-set marathon with Russia’s Ekaterina Syrtseva and Alexandra Moiseeva to win 2-1 (21-16, 15-21, 16-14), before closing their day with an easier 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) win over the United States’ Corinne Quiggle and Amanda Dowdy.
“It was really windy so we had to concentrate on defence and on our accuracy and technique. We served well in this match,” Bieneck said. “We will prepare and create some good situations for us because we have a break tomorrow morning, so that we can win.”
Bieneck mentioned that the high level competition back home had contributed to the German success on the World Tour, where three teams are among the top four seeded teams at the Kuala Lumpur 3-star.
“In Germany we have a very big competition where we play at a high level before we participate in competitions for our national team. We are lucky and happy to have that and be able to field in good teams in the World Tour.”
Top seeds Barbora Hermannova and Marketa Slukova of the Czech Republic recorded victories in straight sets against Malaysia’s Tan His Yan and Foo Sin Xi 2-0 (21-4, 21-5) and the Netherlands’ Jolien Sinnema and Laura Bloem 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) in Pool A, while the United States’ Brooke Sweat and Kerri Walsh Jennings also beat their rivals Monika Brzostek and Aleksandra Wachowicz of Poland 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) and Mariia Bocharova and Maria Voronina of Russia 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) in Pool E.
Spain’s Paula Soria and Maria Belen Carro and Japanese pairs Megumi Murakami/Miki Ishii and Chiyo Suzuki/Yurika Sakaguchi will also advance to the second round of the main draw tournament, awaiting the winners of the first round on Thursday.
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