LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND, September 6, 2008 - The “final four” is set on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca while Brazil and Germany will compete for the gold medal in Poland as the SWATCH FIVB World Tour continued Saturday at two European sites. While the 2008 SWATCH-FIVB Junior World Championships by Nivea Sun for players under the age of 21 is being staged this week in Brighton, England, the SWATCH FIVB World Tour was held at two sites Saturday with Myslowice hosting the women in Poland and Mallorca staging a men stop with each tournament featuring US$175,000 in prize money. The finals for both SWATCH FIVB World Tour events is set Sunday with the winning teams sharing the $28,000 first-place prizes. While the women’s semi-finals were played Saturday in Myslowice, the men’s ”final four” matches will be staged Sunday at the Plaza de Toros in Palma de Mallorca. In Myslowice, the fourth-seeded Salgado sisters (Carolina and Maria Clara) of Brazil face seventh-seeded Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler of Germany for the gold medal as both teams had to win three matches Saturday to advance to their first-ever SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medal matches together. After eliminating top-seeded compatriots Shelda Bede and Ana Paula Connelly 21-19, 22-24 and 15-10 in 68 minutes, the Salgados gained their “final four” opportunity when an injury stopped their match with Brazilian rivals Maria Antonelli and Vanilda Leão. Antonelli’s injury halted the semi-final qualifying match with the Salgados winning the first set 21-19 and leading in the second set 18-15. Holtwick and Semmler, the top team on the 2007 European tour, advanced to the semi-finals by ousting sixth-seeded compatriots Sara Goller/Laura Ludwig 21-17, 16-21 and 17-15 in 58 minutes and 24th-seeded Angelica Ljungquist/Karin Lundquist of Sweden 21-16, 21-23 and 15-13 in 67 minutes. In the semi-finals, the Salgados prevailed with a 21-16 and 21-12 win in 41 minutes over fifth-seeded Nila Ann Hakedal and Ingrid Torlen of Norway while Holtwick and Semmler scored a 21-13, 15-21 and 15-12 victory over third-seeded Sona Novakova and Tereza Tobiasova of the Czech Republic. In Mallorca, third-seeded Harley Marques/Pedro Salgado of Brazil and fourth-seeded Jonas Reckermann/Mischa Urbatzka of Germany had a “day off” while both teams watched the Plaza de Toros action to learn their opponents for Sunday’s semi-finals. The top-ranked team on the 2008 SWATCH FIVB World Tour, Harley and Salgado gained a spot in their 15th international “final four’ in 32 international starts together Friday with a 21-12, 14-21 and 15-10 win in 53 minutes over second-seeded David Klemperr and Eric Koreng of Germany. In advancing to a SWATCH semi-final for the fourth time in 25 FIVB events together, Reckermann and Urbatzka scored a 17-21, 21-19 and 15-7 win in 63 minutes over eighth-seeded Benjamin Insfran and Franco Neto of Brazil Friday. While Harley and Salgado have won seven FIVB titles, Reckermann and Urbatzka are winless in three SWATCH gold medal appearances. Klemperer and Koreng rebounded from their Friday defeat to advance to their fifth SWATCH “final four” in 22 FIVB events together with a 21-14 and 21-14 in 40 minutes over 10th-seeded Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalahes of Brazil, the silver medal finishers at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. With the win, Klemperer and Koreng will play Reckermann and Urbatzka in the semi-finals with the match being the first SWATCH meeting between the two teams. Benjamin and Franco will play Harley and Salgado in Sunday’s second semi-final in the second SWATCH match between the two teams. Benjamin and Franco, who defeated their Brazilian rivals earlier this season in Norway, gained their first FIVB “final four” appearance together with a 21-23, 21-16 and 15-13 victory in 61 minutes over the 20th-seeded Ces brothers (Andy and Kevin) of France. After this week’s competition, the international calendar takes a week off before the SWATCH FIVB World Tour returns to Brazil for the 22nd-straight season for a double gender event September 15-20 in Guarujà. The 2008 SWATCH FIVB World Tour calendar concludes with double gender events in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai, October 5-11) and China (Sanya, November 10-16). Single gender events will also be staged in Bahrain for men (Manama, October 27-November 1) and Thailand for women (Phuket, November 4-9). |
