Antalya, Turkey, May 11, 2016 - After staging last October’s inaugural Antalya Open in the “rainy and drizzly” weather conditions, the first two days of play in the US$150,000 has definitely been a “plus” with the players on the FIVB World Tour with matches on both the BeachPark and Akdeniz University courts.
Quick linksFIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Antalya Open
Men - Qualification resultsWomen - Qualification resultsMen - Main draw resultsWomen - Main draw resultsWith the women’s Main Draw being played solely here Wednesday on the three BeachPark courts near the shoreline of this southern Mediterranean resort region known as the Turquoise Coast for its blue waters, the men’s qualifier was played on the university courts with eight pairs advancing to the “money” rounds in the Antalya Open.
DEFENDING CHAMPS
Along with the weather, one of the pluses Wednesday for the women was the two match wins by defending Antalya Open champions Barbora Hermannova and Marketa Slukova of the Czech Republic. Seeded 14th in the Main draw, Hermannova and Slukova extended their winning streak in this event to nine by defeating pairs from Russia and Sweden Wednesday in Pool C.
Hermannova and Slukova scored a 2-0 (26-24, 25-23) win in 50 minutes in their first match Wednesday over 19th-seeded Yulia Abalakina/Ekaterina Syrtseva of Russia before out-lasting 30th-seeded Karin Lundqvist/Anne Lie Rininsland of Sweden 2-1 (15-21, 21-17, 15-7) in 46 minutes. The Czech tandem ends pool play Thursday against third-seeded Monika Brzostek and Kinga Kolosinska of Poland, who lost to the Russians after defeating the Swedes.
A miss Wednesday was a pool play setback for fifth-seeded Joana Heidrich and Nadine Zumkehr of Switzerland, who won last week’s Sochi Open. In their losing 2-0 (27-25, 21-15) in 37 minutes to 21st-seeded Vasiliki Arvaniti and Penny Karagkouni of Greece, the Swiss saw their ninth-match FIVB World Tour winning streak snap.
Greece's Panagiota Karagkouni (LEFT) and Vasiliki Arvaniti
Heidrich and Zumkehr opened play Wednesday with a 2-1 (22-24, 21-13, 15-12) win in 49 minutes over 28th-seeded qualifiers Kristyna Kolocova/Michala Kvapilova of the Czech Republic. The Swiss conclude Pool E play Thursday against 12th-seeded qualifiers Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude of Germany, who also lost 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) to the Greek team in 35 minutes Wednesday.
UNDEFEATED
Other pluses Wednesday were 2-0 group records for 11 teams, including perfect marks by German pairs top-seeded Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst (Pool A) and second-seeded Karla Borger/Britta Buthe (Pool B). With Ludwig/Walkenhorst being the only undefeated team in their group, Borger and Buthe are tied with 15th-seeded Taru Lahti/Riikka Lehtonen of Finland with the two teams meeting Thursday for the pool title and a “bye” into Friday’s second-round of elimination.
With 14 wins in their last 16 FIVB World Tour matches being a plus for fourth-seeded Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Verge-Depre highlighted by a gold medal four weeks ago in China (Xiamen), the Swiss pair will play 13th-seeded Ekaterina Birlova/Evgeniya Ukolova of Russia for the Pool D title as both pairs posted wins over teams from Germany and Serbia Wednesday.
Sixth-seeded Ana Gallay and Georgina Klug posted a 2-0 Pool F record Wednesday with wins over pairs from Poland and Switzerland. The Argentineans will play Thursday South American rivals 11th-seeded Fernanda Alves/Josemari Alves of Brazil, who lost in three sets to 22nd-seeded Nina Betschart/Tanja Huberli of Switzerland before defeating 27th-seeded Jagoda Gruszczynska/Dorota Strag of Poland.
Argentina's Ana Gallay (center, green top) bump sets for Georgina Klug
FERNANDA
Fernanda, who captured the silver medal with Taiana Lima at the 2015 FIVB World Championships in The Hague last July, is returning to the FIVB World Tour after recovering from right shoulder surgery. She and Josemari are playing in their first FIVB event together and had a first-match miss Wednesday after leading the Swiss 13-8 in the third and deciding set before losing to Betschart and Huberli 16-14. “That was big miss,” said a disappointed Fernanda after the match.
As anticipated, the pairs of seventh-seeded Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler of Germany and 10th-seeded Emily Day/Jen Kessy posted 2-0 Pool G records after defeating teams from France and Spain. The two teams will meet Thursday for the fourth-time on the FIVB World Tour as Holtwick and Semmler defeated the Americans last week in Sochi during the elimination rounds. The Germans finished third in Sochi after losing in the semi-finals to Heidrich and Zumkehr.
VANUATU
In the last match Thursday, ninth-seeded Linline Matauatu and Pata Miller of Vanuatu posted their second Pool H win of the Antalya Open with a 2-1 (19-21, 21-11, 15-7) win in 45 minutes over previously undefeated and 25th-seeded Janne Kongshavn and Vilde Solvoll of Norway. Matauatu and Miller play eighth-seeded Atasoy Burcu and Selin Yurtsever of Turkey in their final group match Thursday.
With the pool winners netting a “bye” for the first-round of Friday’s elimination schedule, the second- and third-place finishes in each group will be slotted into the first-round of bracket play. The women’s quarter-finals will also be played Friday with the “final four” matches scheduled for Saturday.
The men’s schedule in the FIVB World Tour event featured a qualifier Wednesday followed by Main Draw pool play matches Thursday and Friday with elimination Saturday. The men’s semi-finals and medal contests will be played Sunday. The winning teams in the Antalya Open will share the $11,000 first-place prizes.