News Beach volleyball 22/08/2013 A day of upsets, comebacks & debuts at Moscow Grand Slam Moscow, Russia, August 22,2013 – The first day of main draw of the 6th edition of the FIVB BeachVolleyball Moscow Grand Slam was one of upsets, new teams, comebacks anddebuts. For the home country the twolosses of top seeded Evgenia Ukolova and Ekaterina Khomyakova was a hugedisappointment. But Russia also celebrated some unexpected victories onThursday. Serguei Prokopiev and his new partner GrigoriyGoncharov surprised Brazil’s Ricardo Santos and Alvaro Filho and 30th seededEkaterina Syrtseva and Alexandra Shiryaeva upset the 3rd seeded Salgado-sistersMaria Clara and Carol. Russian teams use homeadvantage Two Russian teams used thehome advantage at the Moscow Grand Slam to the fullest on Thursday to upsetopponents twice their ‘size’. Serguei Prokopiev and his new partner GrigoriyGoncharov surprised Brazil’s Ricardo Santos and Alvaro Filho (21-19 19-2115-13) and 30th seeded Ekaterina Syrtseva and Alexandra Shiryaeva upset the 3rdseeded Salgado-sisters Maria Clara and Carol (21-17 19-21 15-10). MoreBorger and Buthe return toWorld Tour with two straight wins With two solid wins on thefirst day of pool play at the FIVB Moscow Grand Slam Germany’s Karla Borger andBritta Buthe celebrated their comeback on the World Tour. After winning a silver medal at the World Championships in Stare Jablonki inJuly, Buthe was out for few weeks with a stomach muscle injury. More Emanuel is learning to playbeach volleyball all over again It must have beencoincidence, but Emanuel Rego and Alison Cerutti played their first match withdifferent partners on Thursday at the Moscow Grand Slam, at exactly the sametime and just a few feet away from each other. While Emanuel and Evandro Goncalves booked a 2-1 (11-21 22-20 16-14) win oncourt 4 over Spain’s Francisco Alfredo Marco and Christian Garcia, Alison andVitor Felipe lost 2-1 (21-19 14-21 15-12) to Canada’s Maverick Hatch andChristian Redmann on court 3. More Late birthday present for Russia’sSerguei Prokopiev Russia’s Serguei Prokopievgot a late birthday present on Thursday at the FIVB Moscow Grand Slam. Just oneday after his name day he and his new partner Grigoriy Goncharov defeated 4thseeded Brazilians Ricardo Santos and Alvaro Filho 2-1 (19-21, 21-19, 15-13) inthe first round of pool play. “I am very happy for me and my partner, especially for Gregoriy, since this ishis first experience in a Grand Slam”, 27-year old Prokopiev said. “I tried tohelp him prepare for the start of the tournament, for this big moment in hiscareer.” More Formerbasketball star upsets top seeded Russian team USA’s Kelly Schumachercrowned her debut on the FIVB World Tour with a surprise win over top seededEvgenia Ukolova and Ekaterina Khomyakova at the Moscow Grand Slam on Thursday.With her new partner Summer Ross, 35-year old Schumacher defeated the Russianteam 2-1 (21-17 14-21 19-17) in the first pool play match of the day.Schumacher made a remarkable switch from professional basketball to beachvolleyball. More The FIVB Moscow Grand Slamcontinues on Friday with two rounds of men’s pool play and one round of women’s.The pool winners advance straight to the second elimination round, the numberstwo and three to the first knockout round on Saturday. The semifinals for bothgenders are scheduled for Sunday, followed by the medal matches. Moscow is hosting a GrandSlam for the 6th consecutive year, but the event moved to a different locationthis season. The new venue, Vodny Stadium, is part of a sports complex locatedin the northern part of Moscow. FIVBMoscow Grand Slam Tournament PageFIVBMoscow Grand Slam Men’s Main DrawFIVBMoscow Grand Slam Women’s Main DrawFIVB MoscowGrand Slam Twitter Account Print this Page News {{item.LocalShortDate}} {{item.Title}} All the News