Gstaad, Switzerland, July 7, 2015 - While the women were playing in qualifying matches in the scenic Swiss Village, the men staged two country quota matches here Tuesday where a brother of one of the leading women’s players in the world continued his bid to gain a spot in the Main Draw of his first-ever FIVB World Tour event.
With 23-year old Joana Heidrich starting play Wednesday with Nadine Zumkehr in the “money” rounds of this week’s US$800,000 Gstaad Major, 20-year old Adrian Heidrich will attempt to advance from Wednesday’s qualifier for Switzerland after he and Gabriel Kissling posted a 2-0 (21-10, 21-14) in 30 minutes over compatriots Bernhard Beyeler and Andreas Sutter.
In the German playoff Tuesday, Sebastian Fuchs and Thomas Kaczmarek ousted rivals Valentin Begemann and Clemens Wickler 2-1 (12-21, 21-14, 15-8) in 46 minutes. It was Fuchs and Kaczmarek’s first country quota win this season after losing playoff matches last month in SWATCH Major Series events in Croatia and Norway.
Joana Heidrich and Zumkehr, the 23rd-ranked women’s team on the 2015 FIVB World Tour, are scheduled to be the top-seeded Swiss team in the 32-team Main Drawas the Swiss pair will be playing in their 25th international event together. The 30-year Zumkehr has been competing in Gstaad since she was 19 in 2005 while Joana Heidrich started playing as an 18th-year old in the Swiss village in 2010.
To match join his sister as a Main Draw participant, the towering Adrian Heidrich (207 cm, 6'9") must win two matches Wednesday with Kissling to gain spot in the “money” rounds. Also competing for Switzerland in the qualifier are Sebastian Chevallier and Marco Krattiger.
Host Switzerland has already placed a trio of tandems in the Gstaad Major Main Draw, including Philip Gabathuler/Mirco Gerson, Jonas Kissling/Mats Kovatsch and Nico Beeler/Alexei Strasser. Kissling joins his brother (Gabriel) in the Gstaad Major while Gerson’s sister (Dunja) was eliminated in Tuesday’s women’s qualifier.
Returning to the Swiss Alps village for the 16th-straight year, the Gstaad Major is the third of three SWATCH Major Series events that began with tournaments last month in Croatia (Porec) and Norway (Stavanger). The men’s 32-team Main Draw starts Thursday leading to Sunday’s semi-final and medal matches where the winning team shares the $57,000 first-place prize.