2017-06-27 14:50:00 CET
World Champs rivals meet in Poreč
First day pits two Austrian teams against each other
Winter/Seidl celebrate victory over their compatriots Dressler/Kunert. Photocredit: Martin Steinthaler.
On a busy morning on day one of the Poreč Major, one of the most dramatic matches featured two Austrian teams heading to the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships presented by A1 later this summer.
Dressler/Kunert had already secured their spot on home sand via the World Ranking system before Winter/Seidl were granted their place on the Danube Island with a wildcard that was announced last week.
The two teams from Austria were paired in the first round of qualification in Poreč and on side court 4, beach volleyball fans were treated to a right humdinger.
Winter/Seidl, a new team for 2017, took the opening set 21-17 but in a tense second set Dressler/Kunert levelled things up, taking it 21-18. In the decider, it was the team making their Poreč Major debut as a team, Winter/Seidl, that took it, winning 15-11 and earning a passage into the second round of qualification later today.
Elsewhere, Qatar’s 2016 Olympians Jefferson/Cherif came through a three-set battle against England’s Gregory/Sheaf. The Englishmen fought back brilliantly to take the match to a third set but couldn’t hold off the threat of the Qatari tandem.
Sadly, it wasn’t the best morning for Croatian fans who packed the side courts. Three Croatian teams bit the dust in the first round of qualification – which means the home nation now have five teams remaining. All of these tandems are guaranteed a place in the main draw which starts on Wednesday.
Remember you can catch all of the action, and watch it all back too, on BeachStream.
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