Lucerne, Switzerland, May 14, 2015 - Brazilian youngsters Andre/Vinicius stun with Main Draw qualification at their first-ever FIVB World Tour tournament.
This moment should become an epic one in the still new career of the Brazilians Andre/Vinicius: it’s the third match point in the tiebreak of the last men’s qualification game at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Lucerne Open 2015; the atmosphere at the stadium reaches boiling point – Vinicius Rezende jumps, spikes the ball and is already celebrating before the ball even touches the sand. Teammate Andre Loyola comes to engulf him in a hug. The 19- and 20-years-old Brazilians can’t believe it: they qualified for the Main Draw at the Lucerne Open, their first-ever international senior’s tournament.
The Brazilian youngsters were almost speechless after the big game. “It’s just an incredible moment – we are overcome by happiness. We clinched a fifth place at the U21 World Champs in Lamaca (Cyprus) last year, but we knew that we started as underdogs into the qualifiers here at the Lucerne Open. Nevertheless, we were keen to prove ourselves – and came with in the hope of making it to the Main Draw. It’s just unbelievable that we did it,” Vinicius explains after the game.
Andre, on the other hand, is just happy. “We took the financial risk to come to Lucerne for our first-ever senior’s tournament in the FIVB World Tour. We played really strong and very experienced teams in the Qualifiers – it’s just an incredible feeling to beat the odds and to make the Main Draw at the Lucerne Open.”
The two young Brazilians know that big challenges await them now in the Main Draw. “We already had some exhausting games in the Country Quota and in the Qualifiers, but it will be much more difficult in the Main Draw. We have to stay focused and play our best volleyball. We are poised to win, but we know that we are the underdogs,” Andre explains. “We just want to learn a lot and improve ourselves. Our opponents are under pressure since they are fancied,” Vinicius adds.
The two Brazilians start with their pool plays today. The 19- (Vinicius) and 20-years-old (Andre) are going to face Swiss hosts Philip Gabathuler/Mirco Gerson, Puerto Ricans Roberto Rodríguez-Bertrán/Erick Haddock and Mexicans Juan Virgen/Lombardo Ontiveros – without a doubt a big challenge for the Andre/Vinicius.