10/08/2019 23:00
Teams from the Netherlands and Austria going strong in Vaduz
2019 World Tour 1-Star - Vaduz
Vaduz, Liechtenstein, August 10, 2019. Since this year, the women’s as well as the men’s final matches of the World Tour 1-Star event in Vaduz, aka Beacharena 2019, take place on Sunday. With as many as 2,500 fans attending the tournament during the day, all of the semi-finalists emerged on Saturday.
Women: Japan and the Netherlands monopolise semis
The Japanese no. 1 seed Sayaka Mizoe/Suzuka Hashimoto did not leave any chance to their opponents from Paraguay, Michelle Valiente and Patricia Caballero, sailing through the quarterfinals. “We served very strong. Although Paraguay played mainly cut shots very precisely, we were focussed in defence and were able to decide many rallies for us,” the Japanese said after the game. They made it clear about their expectations in Vaduz: “We are the number 1 seed of the tournament and want the gold medal.” In the semi-finals, they will now face Emma Piersma/Pleun Ypma, two young Dutchwomen aged 18 and 21 only.
Katja Stam (NED) spikes past the Colombian block during the quarterfinals in Vaduz.
The match featuring Julia Wouters/Katja Stam from the Netherlands, the no. 3 seed of the tournament, and the sisters Andrea Galindo/Claudia Galindo from Colombia was a pretty clear affair too. The Dutch started the match pretty slowly, but they got stronger quickly and finished the match in emphatic style. “We started weakly into the game, but believed in ourselves and found after a few balls also the necessary aggressiveness. We changed our strategy after the weak start and played on Andrea,” they said. Asked about their goals in Vaduz, they said, “We want gold”. Their opponents in the semi-finals are Kaho Sakaguchi/Reika Murakami, the second Japanese team and no. 2 seed of the tournament.
Men: Austria looking strong
The Dutch no. 1 seed Ruben Penninga/Jasper Bouter secured their place in the semi-finals with a very convincing performance as they defeated the Russians Vsevolod Bobrikov/Vladislav Mikhalev 21-15, 21-15. Was it an easy game? “No, in every game you have to perform well first. We did that very well today but we also reacted well when they took turns serving on us. First we had to find the rhythm,” the Dutchmen said.
In the semi-finals, the next Russian team is waiting for them. Daniil Kuvichka/Anton Kislytsyn won easier than expected in their quarter-finals against the Polish No. 3 of the tournament Mariusz Prudel/Mikolaj Miszczuk (21-16, 21-11). The Poles were stringing mistake after mistake and their block-defence system was not working either.
Austria’s Moritz Fabian Kindl/Mathias Seiser and Tom van Steenis/Sven Vismans of the Netherlands delivered a well-balanced and high-standing quarterfinal. They thrilled the audience with long rallies, with great attacks and blocks, including ragingly fast defensive actions. Austria kept the better end for them in a super three-set match (19-21, 23-21, 15-11).
Florian Ertl and Johannes Kratz (AUT) celebrate their qualification for the semis in Vaduz.
The Austrians Florian Ertl/Johannes Kratz, who played their way into the Main Draw after qualifying earlier this week, continue to ride the wave of success and enter the semi-finals convincingly. “It took us half a set to get the rhythm back but we always believed in ourselves, made fewer mistakes and also blocked better. That must have made the difference,” so the Austrians who clearly won 2-0 (26-24, 21-15) against the Russians Andrey Bolgov/Vladislav Ermilov.
As a result, one semi-final will be an Austrian derby between Kindl/Seiser and Ertl/Kratz while Penninga/Bouter play Kuvichka/Kislytsyn in the other.
Click here for further information or visit the official website www.beacharena.li.
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