Top-seeded Both & De Groot were the only team that managed to score three wins on Saturday as the first three elimination rounds unfolded, and they did so in straight sets. They started their day with a 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) sixteenthfinal victory over Greece’s Angeliki Charissaki & Aikaterini Fragkioudaki. In the eighthfinals, the Dutch duo coped with the resistance of Latvian qualifiers Paula Krieva & Estere Zakite to celebrate a 2-0 (21-15, 22-20) win. At the end of the day, Both & De Groot delighted the home crowd at the center court in the Hague with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) sweep of their quarterfinal against Belgium’s Simone Vervloet & Tes Waegeneers, thus marching on to the semis.
It is the second consecutive U18 semifinal for Jara Both. Last year, at the U18 World Championship in Qatar, she and Esmee Radstake stopped just short of the podium after losing the bronze medal match to one of the Belgians they eliminated today – Simone Vervloet – with her partner Lente Thant.
“We are really happy that we won this match, because it’s always tough to play against Belgium,” Both told FIVB. “We had three matches today, so it was a tough day – three big games to win, but we are really happy that we made it to the semifinals. Now we hope that we can get a medal tomorrow. Last year, I placed fourth, so I really want a medal this year and I hope we are going to get it.”
“I think it is probably going to be difficult, but I think we do have a chance,” Matilda de Groot added. “We have two matches to see if we can get a medal, and I think we definitely have a chance, if we play well like we did today.”
