The three teams on the Sanya Open podium proudly display their medals. China won gold on their home soil, while Germany (silver) and the United States (bronze) also captured medals. | Sanya, China, October 31, 2010 –.Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of China, the top seeded team defeated Germany’s Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig to win the Sanya Open. The Chinese finished the tournament without losing a single set. The 2008 Olympic bronze medalists became the first Chinese team to win a gold medal on its home soil since 2007. In the Bronze medal match Americans Jennifer Kessy and April Ross defeated Brazilian sisters Carolina and Maria Carol Salgado.Xue and Zhang continued their high level of play, as the Sanya Open marked the fifth straight tournament the duo had reached the gold medal match. The win was their seventh career gold medal on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour.
In the first set China did not get the lead until 9-8 and trailed 17-15. Germany led 19-18 but the top-seeded team finished the set with a 4-1 run to win 22-20 behind a key block by Xue and Zhang’s serve hitting the back line for the final point. In the second set China came out strong, building a 7-3 lead. Germany fought back and had a one-point lead several times. Xue and Zhang appeared poised to close out the match with a 19-16 lead, but Germany scored four of the next five points to tie the set at 20-20. Xue put down an overset for the final point as China won 22-20.
“I feel like I’m back in the Olympics in Beijing,” Zhang said about playing in front of the enthusiastic crowd. “It is such a great feeling to win a gold medal here in China.”
The series between the two teams is now tied at four wins apiece. Goller and Ludwig, seeded second in Sanya, fell to 0-5 in gold medal matches, including 0-4 this season. The German duo has now won 10 medals in 12 semifinal appearances, but the gold medal has eluded them thus far.
“It was a pity we lost the first set,” Ludwig said. “Their block was good and it put us under pressure. They also defended really well. They had the crowd behind them – they were really loud. But they just simply played better than us. Next time we will win the gold!”
The Brazilians had won two of the three meetings this year against the Americans, and started the match on a strong 6-2 start. But Kessy and Ross turned a 10-7 deficit into a 17-13 lead behind great hustle plays by Kessy. From there the teams mostly traded points before the U.S. won the first set 21-19. In the second set, the Salgados began with a 6-4 lead before Kessy and Ross put together an 11-3 run sparked by three aces by Ross. The Americans cruised to a 21-14 set two victory in what was the Salgados’ ninth match of the tournament.
“We just needed a little bit of rest,” Kessy said. “We played a lot of three set matches. Our game is a lot of power, jumping and explosiveness. We definitely came back today and wanted to get some redemption. Just to get on the podium is moving in the direction we want to.”
Kessy and Ross had won the gold medal in the inaugural Sanya Open in 2008, then won silver last year after getting upset by a team from Switzerland in the title match. Now they can add a bronze medal to their collection, ending a streak of eight straight SWATCH FIVB World Tour events without winning a medal.
“After losing in the third round it was good for us to come back through the consolation bracket,” Ross said. “I’m proud of us coming back and winning that third place match. It’s hard when I’m tired to jump serve well, so yesterday I wasn’t serving as well as I did today.”
For just the 19th time in the history of SWATCH FIVB World Tour, four different countries were represented in the Final Four, with the Sanya Open being the 215th career SWATCH event. The meeting between China and Germany in the gold medal match marked the first ever meeting between the two countries in a title match.
SWATCH FIVB World Tour concludes next week in Thailand (Phuket, November 2-7). By then the international circuit will have visited 17 sites in 14 countries over an eight-month period in 2010 with $6.83m awarded in prize money.
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