Lausanne,
Switzerland, June 4, 2013 - As the curtains are drawn on the World Cup Final in
Campinas (Brazil) former Swiss beach volleyball player, Martin Laciga takes a
look back at some of the action and tells FIVB.org what he expects from the next
Grand Slam to be held at The Hague from June 11 to 16. “It has been a
bumpy start to the year for Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego with Alison’s
finger injury keeping them away from the Grand Slam competitions in Shanghai
and Corrientes. And after a month away from the sand, it was clear that they
had difficulty finding their rhythm during pool play at the World Cup Final in
Campinas. But they held it together enough to get through to the gold match and
then win it. It was a result, which I for one was not expecting to see. “The World Cup
Final also provided excellent experience for Switzerland’s Sebastian Chevallier
and Philip Gabathuler, who were drawn into a tough pool. They played high
quality beach volleyball and posed a real challenge to other competitors, even
managing to beat Alison and Emanuel on day three of the competition. It was bad
luck that they were not able to qualify for the semifinals, but they came close
to it and it was good to see that they are developing their individual
strengths especially as this was the first time they played together. “I am now looking
forward to see what The Hague Grand Slam will bring and although my favourites
going into the tournament are Americans Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson it looks
like there are a few teams who could give them a good run for their money. “The Latvian teams are getting stronger every
week and gaining more experience with each and every competition. “And as I have seen
many times in the past, the Dutch teams always play a good game when on home
soil and surrounded by the local crowd. Dutch volleyball legends Richard Schuil
and Reinder Nummerdor have not played many events this year, so I am looking
forward to see what they can achieve at The Hague Grand Slam. Their younger
teammates, Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen have shown much potential and seemed
poised to make their mark on the tournament as well.
“The surprise pair of the season, Austrians Alexander Huber and Robin Seidl who
won bronze at the Fuzhou Open could go very far in the tournament especially
with their excellent control of the ball. Brazil’s Pedro Salgado and Bruno
Schmidt who have played together this winter and have already notched a number
of wins on the Brazilian circuit this year, have the playing experience
necessary to unsettle the top seeds in the tournament.” “If there is
anything to be learnt from the tournaments over the past few months is that the
quality of volleyball on offer is on the rise, which is making it difficult to
say with any certainty who will be standing on the podium at the various events
this year. “All I can say is
we are not done yet with the surprises on this year’s beach volleyball World
Tour!” Martin Laciga is a
recently retired beach volleyball player from Switzerland. Partnering with his
older sibling Paul, the Laciga brother won the silver medal in the men's beach
team competition at the 1999 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Marseille,
France. He has represented Switzerland at the Olympic Games in Sydney, Athens
where he placed fifth and Beijing where he finished ninth. He has also competed
in seven FIVB World Championships (1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011)
and has won six international gold medals.Other FIVB
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