Today over in Stare Jablonki, Poland was nothing if not an interesting day. Lots of unexpected results, but the big wildcard was the weather.
About two-thirds of the way through the day's action, the skies opened up and what was a sunny, picturesque scene not 20 minutes earlier (specifically, during the Italy/Thailand women's match on centre court) turned into monsoon season. Howling winds, pouring down rain, and one report of hailstones. Seriously. Play was suspended for about an hour and then resumed. All matches scheduled for today were completed, though it got a little wet-n-wild again during the final session. Forecasts for later in the week are for cloud cover tomorrow and sunshine Thursday, but by Friday it could be a different story.
I only took detailed notes on five matches, but I'll have a few words on several others in the results rundown.
Chen Xue/Xi Zhang (CHN) vs. Emilia Nystrom/Erika Nystrom (FIN)
To my surprise, it was the sister duo from Finland who took the early lead in this match, with a service point the very first rally and a 5-2 lead at the first side change. The Chinese team probably could have drawn even at 3's, but Xue let a poke shot go that she could have fielded. It landed just in. Perhaps still a little distracted, the next serve fell in for an ace. Zhang got the ace back on her serve at 5-3 with a jump-float that completely baffled the reception attempt from the sisters. Xue followed with a block for the equaliser. That came off a much tougher serve serve from Zhang, and on 5-5, she went back to the floater. It again disrupted the reception efforts from the Nystroms, leading to another service point. After mixing floaters and smashes, on 6-5 she went to kind of a hybrid serve, leading to another ace. Finally the Finns had had enough and called time.
They got her off the service line immediately after the timeout, and went on a run of their own to get to 9-7, prompting the Chinese team to call time. The last two points involved the net player (they're identical twins, so I officially give up trying to tell them apart) ably beating Xue at the net. They made it to 10-7 after China's timeout, before the service run ended. The score was 12-9 at the technical timeout. On 13-10, the up referee overruled the flagger to rule a hit from Zhang in, for a sideout, but replays showed the flagger had the call right.
Sideout after sideout continued until Xue was roof'd to make it 16-12 at the fourth side change. At 16-13, the Finns hit wide to make it a 2-point set again, but they managed to sideout on 17-14. That rally ended a little poorly, as after some diving defence, Xue bumped the ball a little too softly and had it go into the net. Then for a moment they kinda bickered at each other, showing a somewhat uncharacteristic demonstrativeness. The service reception for the Chinese team completely broke down on 19-15, giving the Finnish sisters an ace and set point at 20-15. Zhang staved off the reception point and then added an ace, but the sisters got their sideout on 21-17 to take set 1.
The Chinese team came out a little stronger to begin set 2. They led by a point, on reception, at the first side switch, but had a shot to lead by three. A long rally went to the Nystrom sisters when Zhang failed to clear the net with a roll shot. An ace followed, to make it a tie set again at 4-all. A hit straight into Xue's block a short while later re-established the Chinese team's lead at 6-4. The Finns made it back to even once more at 7's, following a much-harder-than-it-looks "pushing" cut shot for a kill (your prototypical cut shot is more of a pulling motion) and an unforced hitting error from Zhang. Tne sisters added a service point to go up 8-7, and Zhang and Xue called time.
After the timeout, Zhang committed yet another unforced hitting error, with her roll divembombing into the net. She made up for it on 9-8 with a splendid dig to set up Xue, whose hit was not legally returned, tying the set at 9-all. At 10-9, this time it was Xue's turn to hit into the net, putting the Nystroms back up by two. They made it to 12-9 at the tecnical, just as it had been after 21 points in set 1.
And then it just went in the tank for the Chinese. A tough serve disrupted their offence on 12-9, and their weak return was easily dug and killed by the other side. On 13-9, they were aced, to put the Finns up five. Their reception at 14-9 was still pretty ugly, as both of them went for the same ball, but they did manage to get a sideout. Zhang's resultant serve, though, flew long, and the next serve from the Finnish side was another ace. Really, other than her one service run early in set 1, it was a dreadful match for Zhang Xi. And it was nothing to write home about for Xue Chen, either. The Nystroms' lead first reached six at 16-10, and the closest the Chinese came again was four at 17-13. Match point came for the sisters at 20-14, and they finished it off in style with an ace.
Grzegorz Fijalek/Mariusz Prudel (POL) vs. Inocencio Lario Carrillo/Javier Monfort Minaya (ESP)
As mentioned in my quickie preview post, this team of top seeds is not an aberration like some of these #1 seedlines have been this season. Fijalek and Prudel are a very good team, who can harbour realistic championship hope (more realistic than all but a few teams, anyway). For the Spaniards, this is rather remarkably the first FIVB tournament for 22 year old Javier Monfort Minaya. What a stage for it. It's also his and Lario's first tournament together.
I was awake enough to know crowds for centre court had been kind of so-so for previous matches, but this one had a strong, loud contingent of Polish supporters. It didn't take long for the match to trend in their favour. At 3-2, Monfort had a chance to draw the set even on a return volley after a dig, but his hit found only the net. You could just tell how dejected the young man was, and I think the far more experienced Lario missed a chance at a little leadership to come over and tell him "Hey, chin up, kid." The next serve fell in for an ace to make it 5-2 at the first side change, and it really just got even worse from there for the Spain team. The first two rallies after the side change were long, but both went the way of the homestanding Poles, prompting the Spaniards to call time.
Fijalek, quite understandably, continued serving the both literally and figuratively green Monfort (the Spaniards wore that colour singlet), getting a sixth point in advantage before Spain finally sided out. Monfort's block wasn't a whole lot better than his service reception, as Fijalek easily got the kill. It was 10-4 at the second change. The "Pol-ska! Pol-ska!" chants rang out in the spacious centre court amphitheatre, as the home team's lead just skyrocketed. They were at the top of their game while the Spaniards were, well, not, and with the gulf of inherent talent between the two sides it got ugly quickly. I will say that Prudel appeared to get away with doubles on his overhand sets a few times, and you'd think maybe the Spaniards would get that call out of pity if nothing else. But 'twas not to be.
The last point before the technical timeout was long, and ended with a very silly unforced hitting error by Monfort, who grabbed the back of his head, the embarrassment pretty clear to see on his face. Poor kid. The score at the technical was 16-5, and Prudel ran on serve out to 19-5 (which included a trickly little let serve ace) before Spain got a token sideout. The Poles reached set point on 20-6. The Spaniards staved off the first two set points, with Monfort looking a lot stronger as a setter and a blocker than as a hitter. When he rejected Fijalek on 20-7, we saw the first glimmers of confidence in the young man's eyes, which were nice to see, and he let out a small shout too. Hey, moral victories, because they sure didn't come back in the set. The final was 21-8.
But with a little confidence, and with his first set of FIVB beach volleyball under his belt, things went a lot better for Monfort and his partner in set 2. And I mean a lot better. The young man had a solid run on serve to go up 4-1 in the early going, and force a pretty shocking early Polish timeout. The crowd, who earlier in the set had exclaimed with every time their home team touched the ball, were suddenly a little quiet. It was 5-2 Spain at the first side change. All of a sudden Monfort couldn't not sideout, and he even added another service point on 6-3 to put the team up four. Lario then added two more to put the Spain team ahead six at 9-3. Lots of stunned faces in the crowd. It was 10-4 Spain at the second side change, after the team had failed to reach double-digits in set 1. Poland took a service point on 12-6 when Monfort miss-hit for the first time in the set, but the Spaniards still led 13-8 at the technical.
Monfort hit wide on the first rally after the technical. And yet he and his partner celebrated like they'd won the point. They were quite surprised and dismayed to see that they hadn't, and immediately called their timeout. Here was where Lario displayed a little leadership, as his young teammate seemed really upset for a moment but came back on the court composed and focused.
Prudel drew back another service point on the 13-9 rally, rejecting the young man with a block. Monfort hit smarter on the next rally, to keep the margin at four. At 14-11, Prudel made the adjustment to again have the better at the net, drawing the Poles back within two. Still, Monfort sided out there with a roll shot to make the score 15-12, as the Spaniards closed in on it. Monfort continued to wear his heart on his sleeve, growling with delight when he hit and looking very distressed when he missed. He and Lario continued to keep it sideout after sideout, until 19-17 when Fijalek nicely turned defence into offence for a service point to draw within 19-18. He served up a winner on the next rally, with Lario's pass sailing right into Fijalek's waiting hands (and then straight down). The veteran Spaniard protested that Prudel should have been called for an overreach, but replays showed that no such call would have been warranted. Spain sided out to get the first set point chance on 20-19, but Poland sided back out and it was extras in the 2nd.
Lario and Monfort got their second set point on 21-20, but a long rally went back in favour of the Poles as the crowd were much more into the match than they were earlier in the set. Fijalek's ace serve gave the Poles match point on 22-21. The rally that followed was long and went at last to Prudel to finish the match in favour of the Poles.
Lotta character shown by the Spaniards to take the big 7-point lead in set 2, and it doesn't say anything about them that the lead went away that the ugly first set didn't already say. Monfort's more than a little rough around the edges, but he's got quite some potential.
Michal Kadziola/Jakub Szalankiewicz (POL) vs. Robert Kufa/Jan Hadrava (CZE)
This match is from the pretty-wide-open Pool M. Our commentator (and multiple camera operators) were sadly out to lunch, so it was just the single fixed look at the court for this one.
The Polish crowd were, obviously, still big in the corner of their home team. It was a wash in the early going in set 1, though rather than sideout after sideout it was more like run after run. Kufa and Hadrava would establish a 2 or 3 point lead, then Kadziola and Szalankiewicz would negate it. Neither side really could side out particularly well. The Czechs led 12-9 at the technical, as they took their next edgy little lead only to have their roll slowed a little by the automatic stoppage in play.
And the pattern the set had set for itself held, as the Poles came back even again at 13's. That's when the pattern became sideout after sideout, until the Poles took their first lead at 16-15. They got their sideout advantage at 19-17, as the set weirdly had two rather distinct halves — it was a game of inches the more it neared its conclusion. After the Czechs sided out on 19-18, the Poles called time to ice the server (Hadrava). But they only iced themselves, as Hadrava's serve was easily in, and Kadziola's hit landed wide. No matter though, as they claimed the next two to win the set, a stylish middle block sealing the deal.
Set 2 started off same as set 1 had, with the Czechs taking small leads only to have the Poles all but systematically erase them. They took their first lead a lot sooner than in the opening set, though, as the Czechs felt compelled to pause the action while trailing 9-7. They took four of the next five to lead 11-10 at the technical timeout.
15-14 was probably the longest rally of the match. It certainly had singificance as the ball passed over the net time and again (effectively negating the disadvantage of the serving team), to see whether the Poles would go up by two or the Czechs would draw even. The latter is what occurred, and the Czechs added another service point on 16-all with a block from Kufa to go up a point again. Another service point a little later put them up two at 19-17, and the Polish team called time. They reached set point on serve at 20-18. Kadziola and Szalankiewicz staved that one off, but not their service point, and set 2 had the same score as set 1 — only in favour of the opposite team.
The Czech team took the early lead in the decider, quieting the partisan Polish crowd. They led 4-1 at the first side change. The margin narrowed to 6-4 at the second change, but the Polish team vehemently thought they should have come even. I'm not sure exactly what they were protesting, but they shouted and one of them actually shook the net. If you ask me, getting a yellow-card was probably light-handed treatment. The crowd whistled their displeasure along with them (you don't boo in Europe, you whistle).
Kufa and Hadrava extended back to three at 9-6 upon the third change. Szalankiewicz had a word with the up referee before switching sides, but it was much quicker and more civil this time. An ace serve brought the Poles within a point again at 9-8. The Poles called time, though, after the Czechs sided out to make it 10-8. The Polish crowd remained into the match behind their team, cheering every time they touched the ball. It was 11-9 at the fourth change, as the two teams proved very evenly matched indeed.
At 13-10 in the Czech team's favour, Szalankiewicz continued jawing with the officials a little. It was quick and probably pretty tolerable stuff, but I imagine he probably left the court feeling like his team were cheated (something I'm sure the partisan fans likewise felt). Not something you ever really want to see. Kufa and Hadrava reached match point on 14-11, and converted on reception for the 15-12 win.
Greta Cicolari/Marta Menegatti (ITA) vs. Varapatsorn Radarong/Tanarattha Udomchavee (THA)
How ridiculous is it that Marta Menegatti is still only 22? This is already her fourth season playing world-circuit beach volleyball, and if anything she's actually more experienced outdoors than Cicolari, a former indoor national team player.
The skill and experience advantages, and the height advantage, for the Italians probably paid dividends early. The Italians looked very sharp and in-system, and they're hard to beat when they're on. A Cicolari ace provided for the first two-point separation on 7-5. Menegatti added a kill to make it 8-5, and then a wide hit from the Thai side put the Italians up four at the second side change. On 10-6, Menegatti and Cicolari showed some great extension to keep the ball off the sand. They only returned a free ball, but the Thai team's next hit flew wide for an unforced error. They fell behind 11-6, and called time.
12-7 was another terrific point for the Italians, as they not only transitioned from defence to offence with effortless ease, they did likewise with their respective playing positions and roles. Generally, Cicolari blocks while Menegatti plays defence (even though Menegatti's actually the slightly taller of the two), but when the rally put them out of that system, they weren't downgraded for it at all. Menegatti is a perfectly capable net player, and Cicolari likewise as a defender. And the transition there was effortless and flawless as well.
So you could say I was impressed with the Italians in this match.
The Thais didn't just roll over, either, though Radarong made a curious mistake on reception at 14-9. It looked like Cicolari's hit was going to land well and obviously wide, but she dove for it onyl to send it back outside the antenna. Automatic point, that is. The Italian team's lead got as large as seven at 17-10. The Thais drew back a couple, including an ace serve against Cicolari, but never really threatened. The teams traded sideouts to Italy's set point at 20-14, and the Italians converted when facing serve as Radarong's attempt was wide.
Cicolari claimed a service point to begin set 2, with blocking turning into hitting. She added an ace a couple of sideouts later to put the team up by two, and the lead was three at the side change, 5-2. The Thais really just had no margin for error in this match. At a pretty substantial height disadvantage, they had to choose their shots very carefully, pass well, serve tough, and set immaculately. When they were able to do that, they hung with the Italians for short stretches, but they just couldn't for very long. Another Cicolari ace made it 8-4, with that same four-point margin holding at the second side change.
It was 13-8 at the technical, as Cicolari and Menegatti had the set on cruise control. And why not? You don't get any extra benefit from a 10-point win as opposed to a 5-point win. Menegatti added an ace serve on 15-9, as the receiver (Radarong) was in bad position and stayed there, getting turned by the ball. Recipe for having it rebound off you and fly long, which it did. Another Thai miscue put Italy ahead 16-9, and the Thais called time (Thaime? No.). The teams swapped sideouts until 19-13, when Udomchavee got a sevice ace. Menegatti sided the Italians out to reach match point on 20-14. Cicolari nearly put it away with some solid soft blocks at the net, but the last one landed wide. The Thais staved off their first service point, with Menegatti getting roof'd. They called time there, perhaps to ice the server. Cicolari put the set and match away on the first point back with a nicely-placed pokie.
Sebastian Fuchs/Thomas Kaczmarek (GER) vs. Nicholas Lucena/John Hyden (USA)
This was the very last match of the day, held almost an hour after it was supposed to be because of the comic book weather earlier on. It got a little dreary and wet during this match as well, making setting a bit of an adventure, but ultimately nothing like earlier.
Hyden showed some spryness (for a 40 year old) in the early going, laying out for ball after ball as the back-court defender. He got to most of them, and his hitting was pretty crisp, too. After an even exchange of points early on, the Americans established a 4-point lead at 12-8. After a 12-9 technical, an unforced error from Fuchs brought the score to 15-10. He complained to the up referee that it was very hard to pick up the ball given the weather, the overhead lights, and the LED advertisement boards at courtside. It would have been fair play to deactivate them — there were almost no spectators still left at this point in the day.
That little advantage the Americans attained midway through the set proved to be enough of a cushion. They reached set point at 20-16 and Lucena put it away on reception at 21-17.
Set 2 started off an even exchange of points like set 1 was, but it kinda felt like it trended toward the Americans anyway. When Lucena's block against Fuchs landed in on the other side — just barely — they took the two-point lead at a rather unexpected time. The Germans looked a little upset throughout this set, probably because of the playing conditions. The Americans held the slender 11-10 at the technical timeout.
The Germans came level at 13's and then a terrific serve from Fuchs for an ace, snuck in the right back-corner, put them a point ahead. As this set went on, some jackalope with an air horn started blowing it incessantly whenever Germany scored, so I was dismayed when they went ahead 17-14. They reached set point on 20-16, as Kaczmarek really rounded into form as this one went on. They put it away on serve — much to the delight of the damn air horn.
Interesting moment to begin the decider, as the Americans came out on the court pretty quickly, while the Germans spent every spare second under their little pavilion as they could. But the Germans were vitalised from their late-set performance in the 2nd, surging out to a 4-1 advantage at the first side change as the rain began to fall even harder. The Americans ran it back level by the second side change, as the rainfall began to get heavier and heavier. I definitely do think that if they weren't 10 minutes from the end of the whole day's action, they might have suspended this match, too. You could hear how heavy the rainfall was. Luckily, in terms of sounds-of-the-game as well, our noisemaking friend changed to something like a duck call. Considerably less annoying. Thank you sir or madam.
(Probably sir)
The Germans took three straight after the second side change, and they were halfway home at 8-5. I thought the Americans started to look a little out of gas, but with the ball as sopping wet as it was, it was still kind of anything goes. An ace serve for Hyden that didn't really look like an error by the Germans — it just bounced off Fuchs anyway — brought them back within a point. The Americans managed to go up a point at 11-10 and then snuck in another ace on their serve at 12-11 to take the crucial late 2-point lead. They reached match point at 14-12, but after staving off match point on reception, Fuchs played a lovely roll shot on 14-13 to tie the set.
The Americans got their third attempt at match point on 15-14, but Kaczmarek saved that one, too. Lucena and Hyden had the luxury of siding out to re-acquire match point, but 16-15 wasn't the end of the line either. They were a little out-of-position on the 16-all rally, but Fuchs' roll attempt didn't clear the net. Then on 17-16, he got the point back by blocking back both Americans on consecutive 1-on-1's at the net. Germany saved match point again at 18-17, and at least by this point the rain lightened up a little and the skies cleared a bit. Fuchs saved match points again on 19-18 and 20-19. Then another block gave Germany their first match point on 21-20. It looked like Fuchs had ended it there, but he was whistled for a net fault. He sided out again to bring us to 22-21, but Lucena and Hyden saved that match point as well. Finally on 23-22, Kaczmarek's serve resulted in a Lucena overpass, which Fuchs put away for the win.
Full Day Two results
Men's pool play
Pool A
#1 Fijalek/Prudel (POL) d. #48 Lario/Monfort (ESP) (21-8, 23-21), described above
#24 Isaac Kapa/Christopher McHugh (AUS) d. #25 Esteban Grimalt/Marco Grimalt (CHI) (21-15, 21-19)
Pool B
#2 Alison Cerutti/Emanuel Rego (BRA) d. #47 Jaroslaw Lech/Damian Wojtasik (POL) (21-15, 13-21, 15-9) This was the match that tried to begin on centre court, only to be halted by the flash flood. And I am so not buying into the defending world champs. After their disaster of a championship Sunday at the Rome Grand Slam, needing 3 sets to beat an anonymous Polish team is not the way they wanted to get started, at all.
#23 Martins Plavins/Janis Peda (LAT) d. #26 Matteo Cecchini/Paolo Ingrosso (ITA) (21-17, 21-16)
Pool C
#3 Phil Dalhausser/Sean Rosenthal (USA) d. #46 Juan Virgen/Lombardo Ontiveros (MEX) (21-15, 21-17)
#22 Alexander Huber/Robin Seidl (AUT) d. #27 Sebastian Chevallier/Mats Kovatsch (SUI) (21-13, 21-17)
Pool D
#45 Sergiy Popov/Valeriy Samoday (UKR) d. #4 Jacob Gibb/Casey Patterson (USA) (21-17, 21-14) Definitely the biggest upset of the day, at least on the men's side. Safe to say the honeymoon is over for Casey and Spiker.
#21 Konstantin Semenov/Yaroslav Koshkarev (RUS) d. #28 Iver Andreas Horrem/Geir Eithun (NOR) (21-23, 21-18, 15-10) These Norwegians still have not won a main draw match this season, and at this rate, there's no reason to expect they will. Not this week anyway.
Pool E
#20 Evandro Gonçalves Oliveira Júnior/Vitor Gonçalves Felipe (BRA) d. #5 Pedro Solberg Salgado/Bruno Oscar Schmidt (BRA) (21-19, 23-25, 19-17) Yeah, this one's kind of an upset, too, but it was super super close, and thse are two teams I would say can both make runs at the world championship. One of them had to lose.
#44 Pablo Herrera Allepuz/Adrián Gavira Collado (ESP) d. #29 Michiel van Dorsten/Tim Oude Elferink (NED) Caught some of this match. Herrera is looking better with every passing tourney. Maybe every passing match. They could be a sleeper pick to make a deep run in the knockout round.
Pool F
#6 Janis Smedins/Aleksandrs Samoilovs (LAT) d. #30 Ruslans Sorokins/Toms Smedins (LAT) (18-21, 21-17, 15-12) The brother clash went to the more decorated team. I imagine this was a fun match to watch (it wasn't webcast) and play in, as no doubt all four of these players know one another quite well.
#19 Daan Spijkers/Christiaan Varenhorst (NED) d. #43 Daniel Müllner/Jörg Wutzl (AUT) (19-21, 21-18, 17-15)
Pool G
#42 Stefan Gunnarsson/Hannes Brinkborg (SWE) d. #7 Reinder Nummerdor/Richard Schuil (NED) (21-18, 25-27, 15-11) Every sport has their examples of players who hung on just a little too long. I think we might be finding a couple here (though they're not the only ones if so).
#18 Markus Böckermann/Mischa Urbatzka (GER) d. #31 Philip Gabathuler/Jonas Weingart (SUI) (21-18, 22-20)
Pool H
#8 Jonathan Erdmann/Kay Matysik (GER) d. #41 Pablo Bianchi/Facundo Del Coto (ARG) (21-14, 21-11)
#32 Igor Hernandez/Jesus Villafañe (VEN) d. #17 Todd Rogers/Ryan Doherty (USA) (21-12, 11-21, 15-13) Stick a fork in Todd. He's done. This was a pretty sloppy match by both teams, but in the end the Americans miscues just piled up too fast. Doherty should be playing with Nick Lucena. They might not do much better than Ryan's doing with Rogers, but then again they might. And at the very least, they'd have a future. That narrative of the "obviously physically gifted but still relatively new to the sport" Doherty getting mentored by Rogers just doesn't have much traction. At the risk of overemphasis, I feel like Rogers should bow out with what dignity he still has.
Pool J
#9 Paolo Nicolai/Daniele Lupo (ITA) d. #40 Ben Saxton/Chaim Schalk (CAN) (10-21, 21-18, 15-13) Well heck.
#16 Fuchs/Kaczmarek (GER) d. #33 Lucena/Hyden (USA) (17-21, 21-16, 24-22), described above
Pool K
#10 Ricardo Alex Costa Santos/Álvaro Morais Filho (BRA) d. #39 Dmitriy Yakovlev/Alexey Kuleshov (KAZ) (21-16, 21-18)
#15 Clemens Doppler/Alexander Horst (AUT) d. #34 Premysl Kubala/Petr Benes (CZE) (21-17, 21-13)
Pool L
#38 Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak (POL) d. #11 Sebastian Dollinger/Stefan Windscheif (GER) (21-19, 20-22, 15-11)
#14 Alexey Sidorenko/Alexandr Dyachenko (KAZ) d. #35 Serguei Prokopiev/Yury Bogatov (RUS) (23-21, 21-19)
Pool M
#37 Kufa/Hadrava (CZE) d. #12 Kadziola/Szalankiewicz (POL) (19-21, 21-19, 15-12), described above
#13 Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen (NED) d. #36 Jackson Henriquez/Leonard Alexis Colina Chourio (VEN) (21-16, 21-15)
Women's Pool Play – Boldfaced teams have clinched a spot in the knockout round regardless of their results tomorrow.
Pool A
#1 Kinga Kolosinska/Monika Brzostek (POL) d. #25 Victoria Bieneck/Julia Großner (GER) (21-16, 15-21, 17-15) Caught a little of this match. Very entertaining, as the linescore suggests.
#24 Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Vergé-Dépré (SUI) d. #48 Inguna Minusa/Inga Ikauniece (LAT) (21-12, 18-21, 16-14)
Pool B
#26 Nystrom/Nystrom (FIN) d. #2 Xue/Zhang (CHN) (21-17, 21-14), described above. This is only the third time this Chinese pair have lost in straight sets in a group-stage match, ever.
#23 Natalia Dubovcova/Dominika Nestarcova (SVK) d. #47 Daria Paszek/Katarzyna Kociolek (POL) (21-9, 21-16)
Pool C
#3 April Ross/Whitney Pavlik (USA) d. #27 Jamie Lynn Broder/Kristina Valjas (CAN) (21-11, 21-18)
#22 Lauren Fendrick/Brittany Hochevar (USA) d. #46 Laura Bloem/Rebekka Kadijk (NED) (19-21, 21-9, 15-8)
Pool D
#4 Madelein Meppelink/Sophie van Gestel (NED) d. #28 Jennifer Fopma/Brooke Sweat (USA) (21-17, 21-23, 15-10)
#21 Tatyana Mashkova/Irina Tsimbalova (KAZ) d. #45 Patricia Carolina Caballero Peña/Michelle Sharon Valiente Amarilla (PAR) (14-21, 21-16, 15-12) I feel compelled to re-iterate that one member of this team is 15 freaking years old
Pool E
#5 Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler (GER) d. #29 Jantine van der Vlist/Marloes Wesselink (NED) (21-17, 21-15)
#20 Louise Bawden/Taliqua Clancy (AUS) d. #44 Ieva Dumbauskaite/Monika Povilaityte (LTU) (21-19, 21-7)
Pool F
#6 Maria Antonelli/Agatha Bednarczuk (BRA) d. #30 Martina Bonnerová/Barbora Hermannová (CZE) (21-16, 21-11)
#19 Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst (GER) d. #43 Tanja Goricanec/Tanja Hüberli (SUI) (21-17, 21-11)
Pool G
#7 Evgenia Ukolova/Ekaterina Khomyakova (RUS) d. #31 Mariafe Artacho/Jessyka Ngauamo (AUS) (21-11, 19-21, 15-7)
#18 Doris Schwaiger/Stefanie Schwaiger (AUT) d. #42 Sarah Pavan/Heather Bansley (CAN) (13-21, 21-15, 15-13)
Pool H
#8 Cicolari/Menegatti (ITA) d. #32 Radarong/Udomchavee (THA) (21-15, 21-16), described above
#17 Karla Borger/Britta Büthe (GER) d. #41 Vasiliki Arvaniti/Panagiota Karagkouni (GRE) (21-15, 21-17)
Pool J
#9 Sanne Keizer/Marleen Van Iersel (NED) d. #40 Romana Kayser/Muriel Graessli (SUI) (21-17, 21-15)
#33 Barbara Hansel 2 Katharina Schützenhöfer (AUT) d. #16 Nadine Zumkehr/Joana Heidrich (SUI) (17-21, 21-19, 19-17)
Pool K
#10 Liliana Fernández Steiner/Elsa Baquerizo McMillan (ESP) d. #34 Maria Prokopeva/Svetlana Popova (RUS) (21-10, 21-19)
#15 Kristyna Kolocova/Marketa Slukova (CZE) d. #39 Summer Ross/Emily Day (USA) (21-19, 21-16)
Pool L
#11 Talita Da Rocha Antunes/Taiana Lima (BRA) d. #35 Zara Dampney/Lucy Boulton (ENG) (21-14, 21-17)
#14 Maria Clara Salgado Rufino/Carolina Solberg Salgado (BRA) d. #38 Jolien Sinnema/Michelle Stiekema (NED) (21-14, 21-17)
Pool M
#12 Renata Bekier/Agata Oleksy (POL) d. #36 Daniela Gioria/Laura Giombini (ITA) (9-21, 21-19, 15-10) Always crazy to see a team lose a set where they don't even reach double-digits, but then come back and win the match
#13 Liliane Maestrini/Barbara Seixas De Freitas (BRA) d. #37 Miller Elwin/Henriette Iatika (VAN) (21-10, 21-13)
Every pool has at least one team that already know they'll be moving on. No pool stands with all four teams at 1-1. I wonder if this will cause (m)any forfeits tomorrow.
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