Baden, Austria, June 24, 2017. Only a few could have predicted it but on Saturday afternoon Julius Thole and Lorenz Schümann caused a real sensation before a sell-out crowd at the Strandbad in Baden, when they beat top-seeded, former European champions Janis Smedins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs of Latvia to claim a spot in the semis of the Baden Masters.
Thole and Schümann had made it through the qualification round on Thursday by upsetting the newly crowned U22 European champions Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Artem Yarzutkin of Russia but the real sensation was still to come. The only 20-year-old Thole was especially impressive, as the 206 cm tall blocker did not show any kind of inhibition when taking on two of the most experienced players on the circuit. He showed incredible calm and focus especially in the tiebreak where the Germans came from behind to upset ‘Lion King’ Samoilovs and Smedins in one of the most exciting matches of the tournament so far.
“Of course it feels great and it is hard to put this into words,” Thole said after celebrating with his father, who is almost just as tall and was waiting for his ‘little son’ next to the players’ exit from the centre court. Thole is a former U18 European champion, but this achievement does not stand any comparison with today’s sensational victory over the Latvians. “This is something totally different and I feel very lucky to be able to play at this level. I do not want to underestimate the importance of an U18 European Championship title, but today’s victory is definitely my greatest success so far in this sport.”
Thole was still age-eligible to play at last week’s U22 European Championship in Baden, but he and his partner Lorenz Schümann agreed Julius would skip the age-group event to play at the World Tour tournament in The Hague. “We decided we would travel to The Hague and to play there because we need ranking points to establish ourselves at the senior level, so finally I came down to Baden only this week for the Masters. We will first enjoy the feelings resulting from this victory and after that prepare for the semis, at this stage I think everything is possible for us,” he said.
Thole’s and Schümann’s only setback in the tournament so far came in the pool phase where they lost in three sets to one of the ‘hottest’ teams at the moment – Russia’s Nikita Liamin and Viacheslav Krasilnikov. On Saturday afternoon, the second-seeded Russians rallied to a hard-fought 2-1 victory (17-21, 22-20, 15-13) over Spain’s Adrian Gavira and Pablo Herrera to secure their spot in the semis. Thole and Schümann will play Belgium’s Dries Koekelkoren and Tom Van Walle on Sunday morning for a spot in the gold medal match of the Baden Masters.
Another sensation was about to materialise later in the afternoon when home stars Alexander Horst and Clemens Doppler took on Norway’s rising stars Mathias Berntsen and Christian Sandlie Sørum. The Beach Volley Vikings were definitely up to the task and they put pressure on the local favourites by taking the first set before Doppler and Horst responded by delivering a classy performance in the second. The young Norwegians are making a name of themselves also at the senior level and they once again showed remarkable mental strength and technical skills, but two match balls were not enough for Berntsen and Sørum to make it to the semis. Doppler’s jump serve changed the course of the game and finished it all off as the former European champion scored two aces in a row to the delight of a raucous sell-out crowd.
Click here for further information