05/04/2013 18:00
Turkey's home heroes make it to semis in Antalya after edging couple of strong pairs
CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Antalya
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Antalya, Turkey, April 5, 2013. On Friday home heroes Selcuk Sekerci and Murat Giginoglu found their way to the semis of the CEV Satellite in Antalya after besting a couple of high-profile duos to delight the local crowd. They started out by edging the 2011 European silver medalists, Germany’s Jonathan Erdmann and Kay Matysik, in two sets (21-19, 26-24) before they came back from one set down to eventually best also Russia’s Konstantin Semenov and Yaroslav Koshkarev in the afternoon session (12-21, 29-27, and 15-11).
“It wasn’t much different than yesterday” they said at the end of the day. “We claimed our first game quite easily and then struggled in the first set of our second match. However, we ultimately did celebrate a happy end as we had done on Thursday. We are very happy for making it to the semis and hope to advance to the last stage of the tournament. We hope our fans enjoyed today’s matches and we would like to thank them for their support”.
In the semis coming up on Saturday Sekerci/Giginoglu – whose actions were carefully watched also by the President of the Turkish Volleyball Federation, Özkan Mutlugil – will be playing the winner of the fixture starring Dutchmen Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen and Switzerland’s Sebastian Chevallier and Mats Kovatsch. In the other semifinal Austria’s Xandi Huber and Robin Seidl will be crossing their ways with their compatriots Clemens Doppler/Alexander Horst or with Russia’s Semenov/Koshkarev.
In the women’s tournament 2008 and 2010 European champion Laura Ludwig and her new partner Kira Walkenhorst booked a spot in the semis as Sophie van Gestel/Madelein Meppelink (NED) also did. The “Orange” ladies will be playing there the winner of the clash starring 2012 European bronze medalists Liliana/Baquerizo (ESP) and the first-seeded pair of the tournament, Germany’s Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler. Ludwig/Walkenhorst are also waiting for their next opponent, the winner of the game opening Saturday’s schedule at 8:30 local time with their compatriots Victoria Bieneck and Julia Großner playing Russia’s Evgenia Ukolova/Svetlana Popova.
Click here for more information about the CEV Satellite in Antalya
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