06/08/2015 17:28
Favourites prevail on opening day of men’s Main Draw at Biel/Bienne Masters
2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Biel/Bienne Masters
Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, August 6, 2015. The pre-favourites had no trouble soaring to the top of the pools as the 2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Biel/Bienne Masters got into full flow on Thursday whilst the host nation had a mixed bag of results from their local heroes.
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On a beautiful day in Biel, Beach Volleyball fans could bask in the sunlight on the stands of the centre court and look forward to an enthralling opening to the Main Draw.
Last year’s gold medallists Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira of Spain as well as the ambitious twins Paolo and Matteo Ingrosso of Italy and 2014 bronze medal winners Luis Alfredo Marco/Christian Garcia of Spain all secured important opening victories against their respective opponents.
In the final game of the day for the men’s Main Draw, Swiss champions Philip Gabathuler and Mirco Gerson, favourites in Pool D, needed 59 minutes to settle their affair against Poland’s Michal Bryl and Kacper Kujawiak, fighting hard before celebrating their 2-1 win (19-21, 21-18, 15-13).
In general, the first day of the men’s Main Draw was a mixed bag for the hosts. Swiss duo Nico Beeler/Alexei Strasser stunned the fans in attendance on Thursday with an unbelievable performance to earn a fantastic victory against fancied German outfit Bennet Poniewaz/David Poniewaz within two sets to sit top of Pool A courtesy of their 2-0 winning margin (21-15, 21-19).
Sébastien Chevallier/Marco Krattiger and Mats Kovatsch/Jonas Kissling were unable to follow up on this success in their respective matches. Chevallier/Krattiger lost to French tandem Youssef Krou/Romain Di Giantommaso in three sets (21-19, 10-21, 14-16), and although Kovatsch/Kissling pushed big favourites Marco/Garcia all the way, they eventually bowed to a 14-21, 16-21 loss.
With only one game played in all of the men’s pools, the group phase is still very much wide open and even those who fell to defeat on Thursday can still fancy their chances of progressing to the elimination phase. The men’s pool play will continue Friday and more drama is guaranteed.
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