Rebecca and Talita keep moving forward in Itapema

One of the several new teams competing at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour four-star event in Itapema, Brazilians Rebecca Cavalcanti and Talita Antunes have advanced all the way to the quarterfinals of their first international tournament as partners at the conclusion of the second day of the main draw on Friday.

The Olympians form one of the six Brazilian teams that remain alive in the tournament, guaranteeing the host country at least two tandems in the semifinals and one medal. Two duos from the United States will join the hosts on Saturday’s quarterfinals.

After winning their pool on Thursday, Rebecca and Talita returned to the sand for a single match on Friday, in the Round of 16, where they prevailed over Japanese Olympian Miki Ishii and her new partner Sayaka Mizoe in straight sets (22-20, 21-13) to keep their perfect record in Itapema.

“The truth is we’re not really worried about results at this point,” the 28-year-old Rebecca said. “The most important thing now is that we get some chemistry as partners and find out what the best ways of helping each other are. We’ve been really patient and aware of what we’re trying to accomplish now and I believe that’s helping us to win matches and perform well. Japanese teams are always a challenge because they have great ball control but we were really focused on what we had to do and tried not to give any opportunities for them.”

Their next opponents will be Americans Terese Cannon and Sara Hughes, who advanced to the quarterfinals with a two-set (21-18, 21-16) triumph over Germans Svenja Muller and Cinja Tillmann.

On the same side of the bracket are world ranking leaders Agatha Bednarczuk and Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa, who defeated Americans Corinne Quiggle and Sarah Schermerhorn 2-0 (21-13, 21-18), and fellow Brazilians Andressa Cavalcanti and Vitoria Rodrigues, who prevailed over compatriots Fernanda Berti and Maria Elisa Antonelli also in two sets (21-14, 21-18).

The two other quarterfinal matchups will have the same formats, with an all-Brazilian meeting and a match involving a team from the host country and one from the United States. Emily Day and Betsi Flit were the ones who managed to move forward besides the Brazilians after they eliminated veterans Carolina Salgado and Barbara Seixas in three sets (21-18, 17-21, 16-14). Their opponents will be qualifiers Taina Bigi and Victoria Lopes, who advanced with a straight-set (21-16, 21-11) victory over French Lezana Placette and Alexia Richard.

The all-Brazilian quarterfinal will reunite Elize Maia and Thamela Coradello, who triumphed in two sets (21-13, 21-17) against Denmark’s Sofia Bisgaard and Clara Windeleff, and Taiana Lima and Hegeile ‘Hege’ Almeida, who needed all three (21-16, 19-21, 15-11) to take Spanish Tania Moreno and Daniela Alvarez down.

Saturday’s schedule in Itapema will feature both the quarterfinal and the semifinal rounds. The medal matches will close the event on Sunday.

All matches are streamed live on Beach Volleyball World’s YouTube channel.

Quick links:
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour - Itapema
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
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