Rematch of last year in women’s semis in Jurmala, home favourites looking for Futures title

Teams from four different countries reached the semi-finals of the women’s tournament of the Beach Pro Tour (BPT) Futures in Jurmala on Saturday, whereas in the men’s competition, two home teams from Latvia will face competition from Ukrainian and Serbian pairs in the contest for medals.

Most of Saturday was spent in sunny conditions at Majori Beach, in which the tournament main favourites Tina Graudiņa and Anastasija Samoilova have been performing great. The reigning world champions defeated Sara Sinisalo and Maisa Kyröläinen from Finland 2-0 (21-13, 21-14) in the second elimination round, and in the quarterfinals they edged pat the Americans Katie Lindstrom and Kennedy Coakley in straight sets too (21-9, 21-13).

“We enjoyed it today. We continued to work, improve our performance, everything was good,” said Graudiņa, pleased with the game that the team played. She did not shy away from joking about last year’s Jurmala tournament, where the favourites unexpectedly withdrew in the quarterfinals: “Every year in Jurmala we get a bit further – we move forward step by step.”

It is noteworthy that in the semi-finals they will face last summer’s surprise package Eva Liisa Kuivonen and Liisa-Lotta Jürgenson from Estonia. “It is very good, because we will have a chance to get our revenge. We will try to play better to bring more joy to ourselves and the fans,” said Samoilova, happy about the opportunity to make amends for last year’s loss.

Kuivonen and Jürgenson defeated the Czechs Laura Kubistova and Amalie Tonova 2-0 (22-20, 29-27) in a very long two-set match, before in the quarterfinals they cruised past the home team Līva Ēbere and Deniela Konstantinova 2-0 (21-13, 22-20).
“We couldn’t let them beat us twice in one tournament. That drove us forward,” Kuivonen recalled of the group stage match, in which the Estonians lost to Ēbere and Konstantinova in three sets. “We fixed a few things that went wrong in the first game. Both games were very close, but this time we did not allow a third set.”

The Estonians became the last representatives of their country in the tournament, supported by a good crowd of fans in the stands. “Our fans were wonderful, and the Latvian fans were too. There was a good competition not only on the field, but also in the stands. It was cool - the atmosphere was really special,” Kuivonen said. She is aware that Samoilova and Graudiņa will want to avenge their loss from a year ago. “I am sure they remember that game well. It will be a good rematch. We will see… We will try to surprise them again,” the Estonian could not hide her determination.

In the second semi-final on Sunday at 10 am, Clara Windeleff/Astrid Elizabeth Mellmølle from Denmark and Marta Carro/Adriana Serrano from Spain will face each other for a spot in the gold medal match. 

More about the tournament: https://beachevents.cev.eu/beach/competition/1846 

The Serbian duo Marko Makaric and Djordje Klasnic, the Ukrainian team Ivan Datsiuk and Oleksii Bublyk, as well as two Latvian pairs – Ardis Bedrītis/Artūrs Rinkevičs and Edgars Točs/Gustavs Auziņš – have reached the semi-finals of the men’s tournament.

The top-seeded Bedrītis and Rinkevičs needed three sets in the quarterfinals to beat Lithuania’s Audrius Knasas/Povilas Piesina (21-12, 19-21, 15-9). “In the second set, we were still in a good lead, but we let off the gas a little, after which it was difficult to catch our opponents. We recovered well for the third set and did a good job,” admitted Rinkevičs after reaching the semi-finals. He and his partner were congratulated soon after the match by the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, who briefly visited the Jurmala tournament.

“It’s great to be playing a tournament like this at home. If the weather was this wonderful every day, it would be a ten out of ten. Our fans are the coolest and loudest,” Artūrs Rinkevičs urged the locals to support the team in the decisive games scheduled for Sunday. “Playing on the last day of the tournament is always special. That was our goal, to fight for gold here and win it. That’s why we are not completely satisfied yet, because some work still needs to be done.”

The weather conditions were not so good for the participants in the final game on Saturday, as they were surprised by a heavy storm and a downpour. In this game, Edgars Točs and Gustavs Auziņš defeated their compatriots Matīss Šalkovskis and Kārlis Jaundžeikars 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 15-9).

Točs and Auziņš will play against Makaric/Klasnic in the semi-finals on Sunday at noon, while Bedrītis/Rinkevičs will play against Datsiuk/Bublyk an hour later.

More about the tournament: https://beachevents.cev.eu/beach/competition/1840