Olsztyn, Poland, August 27, 2015 – Piotr Kantor and Bartosz Losiak continued their development on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour by winning both their matches on the opening day of the men’s main draw at the Olsztyn Grand Slam.
The pair won world titles at U19, U21 and U23 level, but are now beginning to make their mark in exulted company, first with bronze at the Sao Paolo Grand Slam in 2014 and then with silver at the Stavanger Major Series tournament this year.
The two 23-year-olds began the opening day with a 2-1 (19-21, 21-10, 16-14) win over former Olympic and world champions Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos of Brazil and then wrapped up the day by beating the USA’s Jacob Gibb and Casey Patterson 2-1 (23-21, 19-19, 15-9).
“We are playing well because training has been going well and the federation allow us to train in good places, plus we want to be the best,” Kantor said. “We could tell by Gibb and Patterson’s reactions that we were playing well as a team and we used that to help us win.
“We didn’t start well this morning, maybe because it was too early and we needed a bit of time to find our rhythm. The Brazilians are experienced and older and we are trying to play like them. From the beginning we quickly got better and better and stopped making mistakes.”
Italian derby
Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Carambula are another pair who have made their mark on the World Tour in 2015, though they enjoyed a mixed start in Olsztyn with one win and one defeat.
First off they beat compatriots Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo 2-1 (18-21, 21-18, 15-8), but then slipped to a 2-1 defeat to World Championships bronze medallists Pedro Salgado and Evandro Goncalves, 2-1 (17-21, 21-16, 15-8).
“At this level and this type of tournament every game is tough,” Carambula said after their opening match. “This one is a bit special, they’re a great team and know how to play us and we know how to play them. I think started off a little slow, but we picked it up and were able to win in three.”
Ranghieri and Carambula won bronze at the Porec Major Series event and silver at the European Championships.
“We started this season strongly and we’ve become more confident in ourselves on and off the court,” Ranghieri said. “We get on well and that has allowed us to develop as a team. We always expect to do well and aim for the top at every tournament.”
For all the men’s results from Olsztyn,
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Check out this slick side out from Kantor/Losiak's at the St Petersburg Grand Slam in June