The Hague, the Netherlands, June 12, 2013 – The first day of pool play at the Transavia The Hague Grand Slam presented by Bas van de Goor hardly brought any surprises. There was rain and most of the top teams remained unbeaten.
The women played two rounds of competition, the men only played one match. Also, for the first time, some of the matches were staged at the city court, created at the heart of the old town centre in The Hague.
Former team mates Agatha and Seixas on opposite sides of the net
Barbara Seixas and Agatha Bednarczuk ended the season last year with a bronze medal in Thailand. This year the Brazilian girls both have different partners and in their first match Wednesday at the Transavia The Hague Grand Slam they were on opposite sites of the net. Agatha playing with Maria Antonelli and Seixas with Liliane Maestrini.
MoreBack to zero again for Smedins and Samoilovs
New team Janis Smedins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs won gold in Corrientes just a few weeks ago, but the Latvians do not count themselves as favourites for the Transavia The Hague Grand Slam yet. “It was a big win and you should celebrate, but the next day it’s back to zero”, Olympic bronze medallist Smedins said Wednesday on a windy Scheveningen beach.
MoreSurprise win for Fuchs and Kaczmarek
Sebastian Fuchs and Thomas Kaczmarek upset former world champion Todd Rogers and his new partner Ryan Doherty at the Transavia The Hague Grand Slam on the first day of main draw. The ‘last minute’ team from Germany won in three sets on their fourth match point: 21-9 17-21 18-16.
MoreSchuil and Nummerdor lose comeback match
Dutch stars Richard Schuil and Reinder Nummerdor could not crown their comeback on the FIVB World Tour with a victory. They were defeated in two sets (21-19 21-14) by Polish junior world champions Piotr Kantor and Bartosz Losiak at the Transavia The Hague Grand Slam on Wednesday.
MoreMeppelink and Van Gestel shake of the jitters to remain unbeaten in The Hague
Corrientes champions Madelein Meppelink and Sophie van Gestel were so nervous for their first match at the Transavia The Hague Grand Slam that they almost threw up their breakfasts. It might have been the reason they lost the first set to Italian qualifiers Daniela Gioria and Laura Giombini.
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City court great promotion for The Hague
You can play beach volleyball on the beach, or just in the middle of a city. That’s what the promoter of the Transavia The Hague Grand Slam might have thought. Next to the Dutch parliament building in the city centre of The Hague they built court number four.
MoreThe first grand slam ever in The Hague continues on Thursday with two rounds in the men’s competition and one round in the women’s to finish pool play. The eight pool winners move straight into the second knockout round. The numbers two and three continue to the first elimination round.
After the Transavia Grand Slam the FIVB World Tour moves to Rome for the fourth grand slam of the year, followed by the World Championships in Stare Jablonki, Poland, July 2-7.