Brouwer-Meeuwsen 2.0 ready for rollout

A new and improved version of the Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen team with added features is in the rollout stage, the Dutch pair announced after claiming their first results at the Katara Beach Volleyball Cup in Doha.

Brouwer and Meeuwsen opened their new FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour campaign with two straight-set victories in the pool stage of the 4-star tournament to progress directly to the second elimination round. They dominated over two Russian pairs, Alexander Likholetov & Ruslan Bykanov and Nikita Liamin & Taras Myskiv, to top Pool F and are already awaiting their opponents in the eighthfinals.

“It was the first games of the season and we were excited to play. We were a little bit nervous, a little bit tense in the start. We had to get loose and make some noise and that started in the end of the first set. Still it was a big struggle, and it’s warm over here, but in the end we are happy that we won. From here we can grow into the tournament and hopefully play some more amazing matches,” Brouwer told Volleyball World.

Just like everyone else in Doha, playing their first World Tour event after a long break, the Dutch standouts are excited to resume the action.

“It’s amazing to finally play again! And here we have great conditions for beach volleyball, with great courts… Of course, it’s a bit different without the audience, but we are still enjoying this game so much!” Brouwer added.

31-year-old defender Brouwer and 32-year-old blocker Meeuwsen have played together on the World Tour since 2011 and have already accumulated five gold medals (including the Katara Beach Cup in 2018), seven silvers and five bronzes. They took the title at the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship in Stare Jablonki and claimed bronze at their Olympic debut at Rio 2016.

They are currently number seven in the FIVB World Ranking and in the Provisional Olympic Ranking and it gives them full confidence that they have already secured qualification for Tokyo.

“It’s great, of course! It’s a really good feeling. It also makes your preparation a lot easier, especially in the times we couldn’t play,” Meeuwsen said. “For the teams that are still in the race to qualify, it has been even harder than for us, because the one advantage we had is that we already knew we were going to the Olympics and looked for the best way to prepare for it. Now that 2021 has started, I’m starting to feel the excitement and I’m looking forward to the Games.”

But the towering Dutchmen would rather not think and plan that far ahead and prefer to stay focused on their current targets.

“With all the uncertainties right now, it’s really important to be here for this tournament. Then, when we see what the next tournament is, we’ll focus on that one,” Meeuwsen said.

“Our next goal is our next match and we have to make sure we are one hundred per cent focused on that. Tokyo is in July and we are more about short term now. We don’t want to think about Tokyo or about the future too much at the moment. Of course, we work really hard every day to perform better and better and that’s the most important thing to focus on,” Brouwer added.

With all the hard work they have already put in, especially during the long off-period, the experienced Dutchmen are ready to show the new and improved version of their team.

“I think this year we’ll show Brouwer-Meeuwsen 2.0 - first of all, with our height and strength like we’ve always been playing for the last 10 years, but now we add another dimension, with smarter plays and some tricks in service,” said Brouwer. “So I think everybody should be ready to see a new Brouwer-Meeuwsen.”

Go to: Katara Beach Volleyball Cup 2021

Watch Katara Beach Volleyball Cup live on YouTube

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