Czechs in with a win

Alison Cerutti and Alvaro Filho topped the standings after point ratios broke a three-way tie in Pool D in the Tokyo 2020 men’s Olympic beach volleyball tournament. The Brazilians and pool runners-up Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen secured their spots in the Round of 16, while Czechia’s Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner returned from quarantine with a bang in Pool B.

After forfeiting their opening match in their pool, Perusic and Schweiner were finally released from quarantine to make their debut appearance on the Olympic sand. Despite having had time for just one practice, the Czechs were able to come back from a set down against young Mexican fighters Josue Gaxiola and Jose Luis Rubio to emerge victorious with a 2-1 (17-21, 21-16, 16-14) win.

“It’s really tough to describe this emotion. It’s something amazing! After the last two weeks, we literally didn’t know what to expect, because we didn’t spend much time together. We’re super excited to even play and the fact that we won is even more amazing. The Mexican guys are a really strong team and we had some respect before the match. We were a bit lucky with the weather. It was not that hot and the wind helped us a bit too,” Perusic told Volleyball World. “The last two weeks were, of course, really tough, but just the fact that we qualified for the Olympics is already something unbelievable for us and we consider it a success.”

In another exciting three-setter in the same pool, Latvia’s Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs also mounted a great comeback to produce a 2-1 (13-21, 21-19, 15-11) upset of world champions Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy of ROC and book their spot in the knockout stage. Having been awarded the victory in the first-leg match against the Czechs, the Latvians top the current standings on a 2-0 win-loss record, while Krasilnikov and Stoyanovskiy and Perusic and Schweiner will have to engage in a direct battle for the other vacancy among the top two in the pool.

“We feel good because this was in fact the first game for us. The first set was really tough and the wind changed a little. In the second set, we came back and then we won. Practically, we did the same stuff we did before. Beach volleyball is a beautiful game because you can win over anybody and you can lose to anybody. This was the part where we are winning,” said Tocs.

USA’s Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser won their last game in Pool D, 2-1 (21-19, 18-21, 15-6) over Argentina’s Julian Amado Azaad and Nicolas Capogrosso, but in the end of the day that proved insufficient to finish higher than third in the standings. In the last match of the pool, Alvaro Filho and defending Olympic champion Alison mastered a 2-0 (21-18, 24-22) victory over Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen, a result that propelled both teams to the Round of 16.

With the Brazilians, the Dutch and the Americans all finishing on a 2-1 win-loss record, their point ratios broke the three-way tie to determine the final standings.

Quick links:
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Schedule and results
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Beach volleyball
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour
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