19/08/2017 14:28
Dutchmen and Italians to prolong their rivalry in #EuroBeachVolley semis
2017 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Final
Jurmala, Latvia, August 19, 2017. Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen and Paolo Nicolai/Daniele Lupo will add another chapter to their rivalry in the semis of the 2017 #EuroBeachVolley in Jurmala after delivering a show of strength in their respective quarterfinals. Nicolai/Lupo are chasing a third continental crown whereas the Dutchmen are still vying for their first European medal – even though they have been a major force to reckon with for many years already. If they defend their title in Jurmala, Nicolai/Lupo will emulate the Swiss Laciga brothers, Reinder Nummerdor/Richard Schuil of the Netherlands and Germany’s Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann – the only players to date to boast three European titles on their resume. Reckermann is the most decorated player of all times with four titles to his name – two with Markus Dieckmann (in 2002 and 2004) and another two with Brink (2011 and 2012).
On Friday, pool winners Brouwer/Meeuwsen did not play any match following the withdrawal of their opponents in Round 2, Germany’s Alexander Walkenhorst/Sebastian Fuchs and they admitted it was not that easy not to feel the competition at all. However, once they returned to perform on Majori beach, their game did not look rusty at all – and they did not seem to suffer any pressure while performing before a sell-out crowd raucously supporting home stars Martins Plavins and Haralds Regza. The Latvians had somehow already exceeded the expectations by progressing to the quarterfinals and they put up a fight – but ultimately Brouwer and Meeuwsen were too strong (21-19, 21-19).
“We “dropped” a few balls today, but if you play against the entire stadium that is your ‘opponent’, to some extent it is tough,” Brouwer commented. “Regza and Plavins did not give us this win easily, and we are happy we made it through today and we progressed to the semi-finals.”
Brouwer and Meeuwsen were the only Dutch team in the men’s competition at the #EuroBeachVolley and this may have caused some additional pressure. “We do not really feel extra responsibility because of that,” Brouwer added. “Of course we are proud to represent our country, but every team plays here for their own first and we do not feel any additional pressure because we are the last Dutch team at this stage of the competition.”
The 2013 world champions are still chasing their first #EuroBeachVolley medal. “We do not know our opponent in the semis yet, but it doesn’t really matter whether we will play Anders Berntsen Mol/Christian Sandlie Sørum or Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai. The goal is the medal, so what matters now is to play our best and win regardless of whom we are playing.”
Later in the afternoon, reigning European champions Nicolai/Lupo put on a show as they easily disposed of Mol/Sørum (21-15, 21-17) to remain in contention for a third continental crown – after those they won in 2014 in Cagliari and last year in Biel / Bienne.
“I think the fans supported Norway a bit more, but if I was watching and not playing them, I would probably have done that too. They are a young team and people like to support newcomers,” Nicolai commented after the match. “It’s always good for Beach Volleyball when new good teams are coming to the spotlight. We observed Mol/Sørum this season and they are extremely good. At times, they have played as if they were more experienced than they really are. They have a great future ahead of them for sure, but today we played hard and we are happy that we reached another semi-final.”
As for the semis, Nicolai commented: “We will be facing our old, good friends Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen and I honestly don’t know how many times we have played them (laughs). Every time they put up a tough fight, so we have to prepare ourselves for that type of attitude for tonight. Both our teams are pretty good, so we just have to see what will happen tonight.”
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