Fethiye, Turkey, September 20, 2014. Single elimination games in the men’s 2014 CEV U22 Beach Volleyball European Championship in Fethiye, Turkey started on Saturday and the best four teams to battle for the medals on Sunday have been identified. Austria's Christoph Dressler / Benedikt Kattner will face Norway's Runar Torsvik Sannarnes / Christian Sandlie Sorum in the first semifinal, while in the second Germany's Max Betzien / Mirko Schneider and Switzerland's Nico Beeler / Marco Krattiger will battle for the remaining spot in the final.
The third day action started with Round 1 games and continued with Rounds 2 and 3. 24 teams’ dreams to top the charts were alive at the beginning of the day but at the end only four had survived to stay in contention for the medals. One of them is Germany’s Max Betzien / Mirko Schneider. They had the leading position in Pool F and started the elimination rounds with a straight-set 3:0 (15-9, 15-10, 15-9) win against Christofer Levin / Wilhelm Nilsson from Sweden. In the quarterfinals, the German duo did not lose a set again, shutting out Italy’s Enrico Rossi / Giacomo De Fabritiis by 3:0 (15-6, 15-12, 15-10).
The young Germans were very happy to reach last four. “We had to fight so hard to reach the semifinals,” said Max Betzien. “We are very tired right now and have one night to have some rest and get going again. We have good tactics. Our coaches are valuable parts of the team. It was easy for us when we did what they wanted.”
Mirko Schneider, Betzien’s partner, expressed the difficultness of performing well during a long tournament: “Being in the semifinals is amazing. It is not easy to play well during such a long tournament. The semifinal is the most important game. We want to win and take a medal home for the first time.”
Click here for more detailed information on the competition.
All Court 1 and Court 2 action in Fethiye is streamed live on LAOLA1.tv.