Coming back from an opening-match upset and getting back into rhythm in a Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite16 event is never an easy task, but that’s exactly what Dutch veterans Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen did in Uberlândia on Friday.

Displaying great improvement in just over 24 hours, the Olympic medallists secured one of the 12 spots in the elimination rounds in Brazil and will be back on the court on Saturday, in the Round of 12 of the third Elite16 tournament of the season.

• Watch the Beach Pro Tour Uberlândia Elite16 live or on demand on VBTV.

The 33-year-old Brouwer and the 35-year-old Meeuwsen dropped their first match in Uberlândia to Americans Tri Bourne and Chaim Schalk on Thursday, but gave the first signs of reaction just a few hours later, overcoming Sweden’s David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig.

Despite their quick reaction, the Dutch still needed another win on Friday in order to advance to the elimination rounds and they got a hard-fought one in two sets (28-26, 28-26) against the home team of Pedro Solberg and Gustavo ‘Guto’ Carvalhaes in a packed centre court.

“Pedro has one of the best fighting spirits in the game,” Brouwer reflected. “He never gives up, always tries to find a way to win and has so much experience. And Guto made some incredible digs. I always have a hard time scoring on him, but fortunately, in the end we managed to win.”

The experience of more than a decade of partnership and the success they had at the highest level, winning the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship and taking bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics, certainly helped the Dutch find their rhythm again on Friday and they want to keep growing as the elimination rounds begin in Uberlândia.

“It’s always difficult to recover after losing the first match,” the defender reacted. “But I think we just remained focused and continued to believe in our game and in the way we can play. It’s a long tournament and we have an opportunity to improve every day, so the goal is to continue to play better tomorrow. As long as the confidence is there and we can play at a high level, we’ll be fine.”

The Dutch tied Åhman and Hellvig at the top of the standing in Pool B with two wins, but the Swedish, who defeated Bourn and Schalk in straight sets (21-18, 21-17) on Friday, ended up in first place, moving directly to the quarterfinals.

Beach Pro Tour Uberlândia Elite16 – Match Schedule & Results

Reigning Olympic and world champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway were the top team in Pool A in Uberlândia. The Beach Volley Vikings were challenged by French qualifiers Julien Lyneel and Rémi Bassereau, but pulled out a 2-1 (17-21, 21-14, 17-15) victory to finish first. Czechs Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner, who defeated Italians Paolo Nicolai and Samuele Cottafava in the tie-breaker (19-21, 21-13, 15-12), were second.

Pool C had a similar scenario, with Poles Michal Bryl and Bartosz Łosiak dominating with three victories. On Friday, they overcame Germans Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler in three sets (21-11, 21-23, 15-9) and swept (22-20, 21-13) Brazilians Vitor Felipe and Renato Lima.

Dutch Steven van de Velde and Matthew Immers went undefeated in Pool D and are also guaranteed in the quarterfinals in Uberlândia. The two topped Spanish veterans Pablo Herrera and Adrián Gavira in two sets (21-18, 21-19) in their first match on Friday and saw Italians Adrian Carambula and Alex Ranghieri forfeit their duel a few hours later.

Starting at 11:00 local time (14:00 UTC), the Round of 12 matches will have Brouwer and Meeuwsen facing compatriots Stefan Boermans and Yorick De Groot, Nicolai/Cottafava against Ehlers/Wickler, Brazil's Andre Loyola/George Wanderley playing Bourne and Schalk and Perusic/Schweiner battling Herrera/Gavira.

Quick links:
Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour 2023
VBTV
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube