17/06/2018 20:51
FIVB World Tour BADEN OPEN men’s gold for Austria’s Doppler/Horst
2018 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Baden
Baden, Austria, June 17, 2018. The men’s final at the FIVB World Tour BADEN OPEN, presented by SPORT.LAND.NÖ, saw the Austrians Clemens Doppler/Alexander Horst play against Julian Hörl/Tobias Winter. Last year’s silver medal winners went for gold this year winning the derby with their compatriots 18-21, 21-16, 15-13. Anders Berntsen Mol/Bjarne Nikolai Huus from Norway won bronze, as the two Vikings emerged victorious against Martin Ermacora and Moritz Pristauz in two sets (21-14, 21-19).
The men’s final of the FIVB World Tour BADEN OPEN saw Doppler/Horst against Winter/Hörl with side-out after side-out and no team clearly dominating. The players knew each other too well. The first set was a real neck-and-neck race with Winter/Hörl winning 21-18 in the end.
Clemens Doppler blocking during the gold medal match
The second set started with two points for Doppler/Horst but Winter/Hörl scaled up the pressure. Horst was strong in his defence and soon it was clear that there would be a third deciding set with Doppler/Horst winning the second 21-16.
In the deciding set, Doppler/Horst dominated the match. With many discussions about alleged service mistakes, the match was close until Doppler/Horst finally went for gold and won 15-13.
BADEN OPEN gold medallists Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst (AUT)
Doppler said about the victory: “The first two thirds of the match were difficult but we found our game in the end. Austria against Austria is always difficult to win. Tobi and Julian would have also deserved the win today. Huge thanks to our trainer. He helped us to work well under pressure which led to us being the golden boys today!”
Bronze medal match
The first set from Mol/Huus (NOR) against Ermacora/Pristauz (AUT) clearly went to Norway 21-14 with the Austrians struggling to keep up. The second set was similar with Austrian insecurities and a clear Norwegian dominance. After a few mistakes from the Austrian team and a medical time out for Mol after having the ball smashed on his nose, the Norwegians won the match (21-19) and the bronze in the second set.
Anders Berntsen Mol (NOR) blocking Martin Ermacora (AUT) during the bronze medal match
Mol said: “I am extremely happy, the audience is incredible but now my batteries are empty.”
“Despite us losing, it was great fun to play!” Ermacora said after the loss.
Semi-finals
In the first semi-final, Doppler/Horst played against Mol/Huus. In the first set, Mol convinced with an efficient performance and Huus with a great defence, winning 21-13. Doppler/Horst managed to find their game in the second and third set winning in the end (21-17, 15-10).
The semi-final Austria showdown saw Ermacora/Pristauz playing against Hörl/Winter with both teams knowing each other well. At the start, there were service and side-out mistakes on both sides of the court but then Hörl blocked excellently, which put a lot of pressure on the challengers. Hörl/Winter confidently won the match 21-15 and 21-11.
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