Polish domination at the courts in Shiokaze Park
Recap
On Sunday, as many as six men's European teams entered the courts in Shiokaze Park. The Polish clearly dominated in their matches. Italy’s teams delivered one win (by Nicolai/Lupo), who emerged victorious after a thrilling match against the Germans Thole/Wickler, and one loss (by Carambula/Rossi). The Swiss pair Heidrich/Gerson suffered a defeat from Qataris Cherif/Ahmed.
Piotr Kantor & Bartosz Losiak from Poland disappointed the home stars Yusuke Ishijima(Gottsu)/Katsuhiro Shiratori, winning at 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) in Pool F.
Shiratori, who is Japan’s most-seasoned beach volleyball athlete (has participated in Beijing 2008 and London 2012) and Gottsu (a Beijing 2008 Olympian in Volleyball), couldn’t find a response to the better performance delivered by the Poles. Kantor and Losiak, who have won their first medal since 2018 at the World Tour in Sochi this past June, proved better on all the counts against the Japanese. With 27 successful attacks (compared to 17 by their opponents), six blocks (to two by Gottsu/Shiratori) and two aces, Kantor and Losiak have a dream start at their second Olympics.
In the other match of the day in Pool F, two European teams locked horns. The German Julius Thole/Clemens Wickler (silver medallists from the 2019 Worlds) and the Italians Paolo Nicolai/Daniele Lupo (silver medallists from Rio 2016), delivered a great derby. The Italian squad came back in the match after losing the first set to eventually win at 2-1 (19-21, 21-19,15-13). The Germans recorded as many as 13 errors on the serve; points that turned out to be decisive for the final outscore. Nicolai/Lupo seized their opportunities, and despite that they scored less (29 to 33), congratulated themselves with the victory. Wickler topped the charts, scoring 19 times.
Paolo Nicolai (ITA)“It was a great game to play. Both teams deserved the win. The Germans played very well, there are few teams who play at the level, and it’s a great way for them to join the Olympics. Today, we won, and we are happy with the result."
Climens Wickler (GER)“We tried to keep pressure on the other team, and we succeeded in the first set. We didn’t react as well during the second set. They had better defence.”
The other Polish pair in the tournament, Grzegorz Fijalek & Michal Bryl also had reasons to celebrate in Pool E on Sunday, claiming a 2-0 victory over Morocco’s Mohamed Abicha/Zouheir Elgraoui (21-17, 21-11). It was a clear win as the Poles took control of the game from the beginning and did not let their opponents take the lead in the match. Statistically, the Polish players outclassed the Moroccans on attack (22 to 16), block (three to one). Only on the serve did Abicha and Elgraoui put some pressure, finishing with three aces (while Fijalek and Bryl aced four times).
The Swiss Heidrich/Gerson, who qualified for Tokyo2020 by grabbing the last available ticket after winning the Final of the #CEVContinentalCup in late June, suffered a loss in their opening match in Pool C. The Qatar stars Cherif/Ahmed turned out to be better in the decisive balls, and recording as many as six blocks (five by Cherif), grabbed a 2-0 win (21-17, 21-16). Heidrich and Gerson fought hart on the attack, finishing with 24 winning spikes (to 21 by Cherif/Аhmed). Mirco Gerson became top scorer with 17 points to his name.
Mirco Gerson (SUI)“They deserved to win. We let too many mistakes affect our game. Our reception was not working. I think that now the important thing is to recover, to analyse the game, and to think about our next match.”
After only two trainings together, the U.S. Jacob Gibb and Tri Bourne disappointed the other Italian team at the Men’s Beach Volleyball tournament. Adrian Carambula and Enrico Rossi fought hard but lost in two sets (18-21, 19-21). A real cat-and-mouse game was delivered in the second part, when throughout the whole set, none of the teams would score a break point. It was, however, the North Americans who proved better, acing three times and recording 30 attack points (the Italians could score 22 times). Carambula and Rossi scored more on their opponents’ errors (13), but it wasn’t enough for a better outcome.
The day was a lot lighter for European women as only four teams from the continent were on the court in two matches that reunited fellow Europeans.
One of them featured some of the most experienced players in the women’s tournament, pitting three-time Olympians Liliana Fernandez and Elsa Baquerizo of Spain against Dutch Madelein Meppelink, who’s also competing in her third edition of the Games, and partner Sanne Keizer, who’s part of the Olympics for a second time in her career.
Liliana and Elsa came out on top in their pool B opener as they used their chemistry of 14 years of partnership to come from behind and secure a 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 16-14) victory at the Shiokaze Park Stadium. The Spaniards benefited from their strong defensive system, which led Liliana to have six blocks and Elsa to get 15 digs.
Elsa Baquerizo“It was a very good win, the match was very tight. The two teams have known each other for a long time, so we knew it was going to be tough. We had to fight until the end, and in the end it was just little details that decided to which side it was going to go."
Representing the Russian Olympic Committee, Olympic debutants Nadezda Makroguzova and Svetlana Kholomina also claimed their first win in the Tokyo sand. The young duo won their pool E opener against three-time Olympian Marta Menegatti and her partner Viktoria Orsi Toth in straight sets (21-18, 21-15). The 24-year-old Makroguzova had a great performance with four blocks and three aces.
Nadezda Makroguzova“It’s great that we got to win our first match. We’re overwhelmed by the many messages and the massive support we received. It makes us really happy to see that there are so many people with us and supporting our sport.”