Ana Patricia & Duda started their second competition day at the Finals with a straight-set win over reigning world champions Sara Hughes & Kelly Cheng. Ana Patricia produced a match-high 22 points, including two aces and two kill blocks, towards a 2-0 (21-13, 21-19) victory over the Americans, who are still winless after three games played and already out of contention for the quarterfinal spots.
The Brazilians’ next win was not quite as straightforward. On Thursday evening, in their last pool match, they celebrated a narrow 2-1 (21-17, 15-21, 17-15) success over Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes & Brandie Wilkerson, with Ana Patricia once again the best scorer of the game, this time raising five kill blocks towards a 25-point tally.
Despite the loss, Melissa & Brandie advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals, along with Germany’s Cinja Tillmann & Svenja Muller, currently on a 2-1 win-loss record each. When the two teams face each other in their last pool match on Friday, they will only determine who takes the pool runner-up position and who finishes third. On Thursday, both pairs claimed three-set victories over Latvia’s Anastasija Samoilova & Tina Graudina, who are also still winless and out of contention. Melissa & Brandie achieved a 2-1 (21-14, 16-21, 15-10) win, while Muller & Tillmann managed a 2-1 (16-21, 21-15, 15-6) comeback victory over the Latvians.
