26/08/2020 22:00
Top seeds off to convincing start in Montpellier Main Draw
2020 World Tour 1-Star - Montpellier
Montpellier, France, August 26, 2020. Main Draw action at the World Tour 1-Star event in Montpellier started on Wednesday, with two matches scheduled in each of the four pools. This stage of the competition runs according to the double elimination system.
In Pool A, top-seeded Quincy Ayé (203 cm tall) and partner Arnaud Gauthier-Rat (pictured) needed two sets only to edge the youngest players in the competition, Arthur Canet and Téo Rotar, who are 15 and 16 years old, respectively. Gauthier-Rat and Ayé won silver last year in Montpellier when they lost the final to Dirk Boehlé and Stefan Boermans of the Netherlands.
There was another derby in this pool, this time featuring teams from Sweden, with ‘lucky losers’ Martin Appelgren and Alexander Herrmann losing to their compatriots Peter Lundgren and Jakob Wijk Tegenrot. Appelgren and Herrmann joined the Main Draw despite losing in Tuesday’s qualification round after the withdrawal of two Swiss teams.
Marco Grimalt of Chile celebrating a first victory in the Main Draw of the Montpellier event
Esteban and Marco Grimalt of Chile, who have claimed a number of World Tour medals throughout their career, are the big favourites of Pool B and they delivered a solid performance in their opening matchup with ‘lucky losers’ Jérémy Silvestre and Titouan Halle of France (21-17, 21-13). Germany’s Max Betzien and Dirk Westphal claimed the other match in Pool B where they beat Joao Pedrosa/Hugo Campos of Portugal 21-16, 23-21.
“I have been in Montpellier before, several times, and I am happy that the tournament can take place this year, despite the very special conditions we have to deal with,” Betzien said. “The venue is great, and playing on one court only is so much better! Personally, I am 26 years old and my goal is to become more and more successful on the World Tour, to continue to collect points, and why not play at the Olympic Games! Even if I know it is a little unrealistic because there is a lot of competition, with six or seven high-level teams in Germany.”
In Pool C, Dutchmen Leon Luini and Matthew Immers claimed a hard-fought 2-1 victory (14-21, 21-17, 17-15) over the gold medal winners from the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig. The schedule in this pool featured a newly formed French team – with the experienced Edouard Rowlandson playing alongside the only 18-year-old Tom Altwies. Rowlandson’s regular partner is currently nursing an injury. The French team put up a fight but eventually lost to Germany’s Armin Dollinger and Simon Kulzer in two sets (22-20, 21-18).
An imposing block by Italian Beach Volleyball star Alex Ranghieri
Italy’s Beach Volleyball star Alex Ranghieri returned to the court together with new partner Daniele Sablone after making their first appearance together in late July in Ljubljana. Ranghieri was especially happy with his return to Montpellier, where back in 2015 he helped Italy claim first place in one of the stages of the CEV Continental Cup. With Ranghieri’s superb blocking performance, the Italians secured a 21-19, 21-12 victory over Swiss qualifiers Jonathan Jordan and Nathan Broch. To finish the day, home heroes Timothée Platre and Arnaud Loiseau celebrated a 2-0 triumph (21-17, 21-15) over Israel’s Sean Faiga and Netanel Amiram Ohana.
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