Brasilia will be tight affair says Adriana in new FIVB blog
Two-time FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch world champion Adriana Behar of Brazil picks her compatriots Alison and Emanuel to go one place better from last year's silver medal and win the men's Brasilia Open, which starts on Monday in her opening blog entry for the FIVB website.
The former beach volleyball and volleyball international, who also clinched six Tour titles and two Olympic silver medals in Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, said: Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are always worth looking out for but I expect Alison and Emanuel to do well and get the home crowd cheering! They won the most recent tournament on the Brazil Tour earlier in April and have had a year to play as a pair. Alison is still young but has a very strong spike and will have been managed well by the more experience Emanuel."
Legendary Brazilian Emanuel Rego became the first international Beach Volleyball player to win over $2m in a career at the Brasilia Open last year but it was the 2008 Olympic champions Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers who became the first American men’s team to capture a SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal in Brazil in 14 years by beating Alison and Emanuel 21-16 and 21-12.
Adriana's blog can be read here and will be added to throughout the season by numerous other former players and personalities from the sport.
The Brasilia Open is the first event on the FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour and is set to begin this Sunday, running from April 17 to 23.
