The Hague, The Netherlands, July 18, 2014 - A "big disappointment" for the No. 1-seeded and European champions Marleen van Iersel and Madelein Meppelink as the pair dropped an opening match Friday at the Transavia Grand Slam to end the US$1-million event in 17th-place.
After winning the first set 21-15 against 15th-seeded Ozzies’ Taliqua Clancy and Louise Bawden, van Iersel and Meppelink dropped the next two sets 21-17 and 15-13 in the 52-minute match on The Hague Beach Court.
"We’ve been looking forward to this Grand Slam, here in our hometown, and we have felt the support from our fans, friends and family, so it’s extra disappointing to loose here today", said Meppelink afterwards. "We started off well in the first set and we tried to hold that form into the second match, but sadly we couldn’t keep it up. Why? This is the first year Marleen and I play together. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes not."
The 24-year-old Meppelink is disappointed about the match today, but overall she’s positive. "We started this year with the knowledge that we’re new to each other. It’s a year we have to get to know each other. Therefore, we can relativize this defeat and we have set our mind to Long Beach."
The main goal for van Iersel and Meppelink is the Olympics in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. But first the Grand Slam in Long Beach, next week. "Although we’re not satisfied with the result, we played better than last week in Gstaad, Switzerland. So we’ll just have to make it happen in Long Beach. Besides, we can win a surfboard in California."
For the Australians the win against the Dutch was a big victory. "It feels good to win against the European champions on their home ground. It is difficult to beat them, but we did it", said the 22-year old Clancy while she was recovering from the match. "We struggled in the first set, but in the second and third we fought for the victory. Mentally, we we’re really strong."