Men's Preliminaries
All But One Favorite Advance:
In all but one match, the favorites continued to advance in the winners bracket in the bottom half of the men's beach volleyball first round action at Atlanta Beach. No. 18 seeded Luis MAIA and Joao BRENHA (POR) were able to sneak by No. 15-seeded Michel EVERAERTand Sander MULDER (NED), 15-8, in the longest match of the day. The Dutch duo used sideouts to stave off match point but could not convert. However, MAIA/BRENHA earned the right to play No. 3 seeded Sinjin SMITH and Carl HENKEL (USA) who had a bye in the first round, as did the other top nine seeds. No. 10-seeded Francisco ALVAREZ and Juan ROSELL made fast work of Tom ENGLEN and Fredrik PETERSSEN (SWE), 15-3, to advance easily. In another hard-fought match, Jorg AHMANN and Axel HAGER (GER) used a distinct height advantage to beat Japan's Kazayuki TAKAO and Shoji SETOYAMI. The Japanese duo gave up almost a half a foot in height and tried to use quickness and placement to make up for a lack of blocking. Andrea GHIURGHI and Nicola GRIGOLO took advantage of six service faults by Glenn and Reid HAMILTON (NZL) to win 15-8.
No Upsets in Men's First Round Bracket:
There were no upsets in the top half of the men's beach volleyball racket as seeds 10 through 24 battled to stay in the winner's bracket in the double elimination format. Despite the courtside temperature of 105 degrees, the players have marvelled at the relative coolness of the pale sand trucked in from nearby Roberta, Georgia. Marek PAKOSTA and Michal PALINEK (CZE) reeled off the last five points of their game to bounce Javier YUSTE and Miguel PRIETO (ESP) 15-11. They have the historical distinction of being the first men's team to advance in Olympic history. Unfortunately, they won the right to play the top-seeded Roberto LOPES and FRANCO (BRA). The other Spanish pair, Javier BOSMA and Sixto JIMENEZ advanced, cruising to a 15-7 win over No. 24 seeded Mochamad NURMUFID and Markoji MARKOJI (INA). France's Christian PENIGAUD and Jean-Phillippe JODARD had battle the resilient Estonian pair of Avo KEEL and Kaido KREEN to a 15-8 win. Julien PROSSER and Lee ZAHNER (AUS) beat Canadians Edward DRAKICH and Marc DUNN 15-6.
"They don't do a lot of beach shots, just spike all the time, "said Christian Peniguad (FRA). "They just spike, spike, spike. We are good in the blocking and defense. Today I put something on the block, I think I can put more. We blocked at the beginning and the end."
Favorites Advance in Session I :
The top-seeded women's beach volleyball pair, Jackie SILVA and Sandra PIRES (BRA) needed only 25 minutes to dispatch Etta KAIZE and Ni Putu Timy YUDHANI RAHAYYU (INA) 15-2. The Brazilian pair blasted out of the starting blocks with a 14-0 lead before Canada could respond. After the first 10 women's matches, all the favorites have advanced, including No. 2-seeded Holly MCPEAK and Nancy RENO (USA), who beat Brigitte LESAGE and Anabelle PRAWERMAN (FRA) 15-4. Fourth seeded Adriana SAMUEL RAMOS and Monica RODRIGUS (BRA) had a scare when No. 12 ranked Consuelo TURETTA and Anna Maria SOLAZZI (ITA) had match point three times before letting the favored Brazilians off the hook. Both Australian pairs advanced to the third round as Liane FENWICK/Anita SPRING and Natalie COOK /Kerri Ann POTTHARST won their openers. Germany's Beate BUHLER/Danja MUSCH advanced as did American pairs Linda HANLEY/Barbra FONTANA and Debra RICHARDSON and Gail CASTRO.
"It was so exciting, I did not anticipate what a difference with an American crowd, " said Nancy RENO (USA), "We are used to foreign crowds like Brazil who are vehemently against us. The energy here is wonderful. As the games go on, there won't be any lopsided matches. By mid tomorrow all the matches will be competitive. We elevate our play as the tournament goes on."
This is an official publication of the Atlanta
Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department.
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