18/01/2014 16:44
Russian teams take five semi-final spots at Anapa Satellite
2014 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Anapa
Anapa, Russia, January 18, 2014. The semifinalists of the 2014 CEV Anapa Satellite were determined on Saturday after completion of the second day of the Main Draw. Russia’s top duo Konstantin Semenov and Viacheslav Krasilnikov will play Germany’s Armin Dollinger and Clemens Wickler who advanced to the semifinals via the losers’ bracket. After losing to Semenov and Krasilnikov, Austria’s Christoph Dressler and Thomas Kunert beat Israel’s Ariel Hilman and Sean Faiga in their second match of the day and also progressed to the semis to play second-seeded Yaroslav Koshkarev/Ruslan Bykanov. Three Russian teams qualified for the women’s semis together with Germany’s Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude.
Koshkarev and Bykanov had a very difficult clash against the Israelis as Hilman and Faiga were very close to claim the first set but gave up fighting in the second (22-20, 21-11). Koshkarev seemed quite tired after his only effort of the day: “We were quite ready for a good performance by the Israeli guys. They played perfectly in the first set spiking accurately and powerfully. You probably could notice that they managed to put the first six or seven balls right on the side line. They didn’t make mistakes at all but then they showed less power and everything went easier for us. When they realized that they didn’t stand a chance to come back in the second set, they obviously gave up resisting. I’ve already met this pair last year at the FIVB Anapa Open. I was playing with Konstantin Semenov then. Of course since the season has just started it is difficult to get the proper rhythm now, also after I spent a pleasant and relaxing time with my wife and daughter. However, our goal here is no less than to win a medal.”
The local fans will get to watch an all-Russian semifinal game in the women’s tournament come Saturday after Evgenia Ukolova and Maria Prokopeva managed to beat at the tie-break their compatriots Ksenia Dabizha and Yulia Abalakina (18-21, 21-10, and 15-8) while second-seeded Ekaterina Syrtseva/Alexandra Moiseeva fought their way back through the losers’ bracket after their earlier defeat to Germany’s Chantal Laboureur and Julia Sude (16-21, 24-22, and 13-15). The third seed from Germany easily saw off their opponents in the first set but then had to work hard to progress to the next round. “That was quite a tense match,” Julia Sude commented. “The final result chiefly depended on the quality of our serving. In the first set we served better and that’s why we won. Then it was the turn of our opponents to benefit from this fundamental. As for the tie-break you know it is always a lottery. This time we were luckier. We’ve been a little bit more patient and ambitious and were always waiting for their mistakes.”
Unlike some other participants, the Germans, who had recently reached the final of the FIVB Open in Durban, are in excellent shape and did not stop working even during the season’s holidays.
“Actually we do not feel like this tournament is the start of the 2014 season because no more than a month ago we participated in the Durban Open,” Chantal Laboureur says. “The nice surprise here is that it is so warm. Last year we played a similar indoor tournament in Montpellier and it was cold there in the hall. We even had to put on trousers and sand-socks. It’s nice to have the opportunity to play in bikini in January. I’m not sure but probably we will have a holiday after this competition.”
In the semis Laboureur and Sude will play against another Russian team, namely Olga Motrich and 2013 U18 European champion Daria Rudykh.
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