Anapa, Russia, May 27, 2014 – Austrian duo Eva Freiberger and Patricia Teufl quickly wrapped up victory in the women’s qualification round at the Anapa Open to reach the main draw for the first time.
The pair are playing in only their second tournament together, but beat Moldovans Ecaterina Arabadji and Polina Idjilov 2-0 (21-11, 22-20) in their first ever FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event.
“It was a match full of ups and downs,” Freiberger said. “The start was very good and we kept up the pressure with our serve, but in the second we made a few too many mistakes, so we are happy that we got through.
“It is our first international tournament, so we are very happy to be in the main draw. It is only our second tournament together after one on our national tour.”
Joining the Austrians in the main draw are another team making their debuts on the World Tour, USA’s Caitlin Ledoux and Irene Hester.
The rookie pair beat Italians Laura Cavalluzzi and Sara Menghi 2-0 (21-12, 21-12) to progress.
“We are so excited, this is our first World Tour event so to qualify for the main draw out here is unbelievable,” Ledoux said.
“We tried to focus on our side, not worry about what was going on the other side and do what we have been training to do and it worked. It is our first season together so we are pretty excited.”
The women’s main draw begins on Wednesday May 28, as does the men’s qualification round.
The double-gender US$150,000 FIVB Anapa Open in Russia runs from Tuesday, May 27 through to Sunday June 1 and the top three teams in each gender receive 250, 225 and 200 world ranking points. It is the fifth event and the fourth Open on the 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar, which features nine Grand Slams and 11 Open tournaments.
The 2014 World Tour began at the Fuzhou Open in China in April and concludes at the Durban Open in South Africa in December. Next up on the World Tour calendar is the Moscow Grand Slam which runs from June 11-15.