Miguel Pereira, Brazil, August 9, 2019 – The home pairs earned the maximum on the first competition day in both the men’s and the women’s main draw at the Miguel Pereira one-star stop on the 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. The only losses any Brazilian teams conceited were against other Brazilian teams.
In the men’s competition, three duos from the host country took the first three spots in Pool A to advance to the knockout rounds of the tournament, with ninth-seeded wild cards Matheus Maia Terra de Faria & Eduardo Davi Marinho da Rocha, who came in from Thursday’s qualifications, winning both their matches to earn a direct ticket to the quarterfinals. They took a 2-0 (24-22, 21-12) victory over compatriots Averaldo Pereira Da Silva & Bruno De Paula in the first leg, before delivering a tight 2-1 (31-33, 21-19, 15-12) upset of top-seeded Joalisson Laurindo Gomes & Leonardo Gomes Vieira in the pool’s winners’ match.
Another Brazilian wild card, seventh-seeded Hevaldo Sabino Moreira & Vinicius Rezende Costa Freitas, topped Pool B after a 2-0 (21-15, 21-13) win over Japan’s Ryota Sato & Toshiharu Kojima and a 2-0 (21-19, 21-12) pool final straight-setter against Venezuela’s Jesus Villafanye & Jackson Henriquez, seeded 15th. Second-seeded Canadians Jake MacNeil & William Hoey won the survival match with Japan to finish third in the pool.
“Things are going very well and I think it is much easier when you play with someone who admires you. I feel the same for him. I’m 40 and I see a young player at the age of 24 who tries to do better every day,” Hevaldo said.
“I always wanted to play with Hevaldo and to be here at Miguel Pereira with him, in this atmosphere, has been very special for me. We are working very hard because we have great goals for the future”, stated defending Miguel Pereira champion Vinicius.
14th-seeded Arthur Da Silva Mariano & Felipe Cavazin Numasawa, who also had to qualify for the main draw, delivered two upsets in Pool C to go straight to the quarterfinals. The Brazilian pair managed a 2-0 (21-14, 21-19) win over third-seeded compatriots Harley Marques Silva & Luciano Ferreira de Paula, who eventually finished third. In the duel for the first place, Arthur & Numasawa cruised to a speedy 2-0 (21-7, 21-10) shutout of sixth-seeded Hans Erik Dybfest & Ruben Olai Lund Lovli of Norway.
An all-Brazilian final shaped up in Pool D. After an emphatic 2-0 (21-9, 21-13) straight-setter against Colombia’s Edgardo Cuello & Sneider Rivas, Renato Andrew Lima de Carvalho & Rafael Andrew Lima de Carvalho, seeded fifth, took on fourth-seeded Arthur Diego Mariano Lanci & Adrielson Dos Santos Silva and mastered a come-from-behind 2-1 (13-21, 21-19, 15-7) victory. Norway’s Vegard Lokken & Erlend Henriksveen stayed in contention as the pool’s third-placed team after a three-set loss to Arthur & Adrielson and a three-set win over Cuello & Rivas.
Saturday's programme in the men's competition will end with the two semifinals (at 15:30 local time), which will be streamed live on the FIVB YouTube channel.
Five of the six home teams among the total of 11 participants in the women’s main draw have already secured their spots in the quarterfinals.
Ninth-seeded wild cards Izabel Cristina Amaral Santos & Aline Lebioda topped Pool A after a 2-0 (21-17, 21-13) shutout of Mozambique’s Vanessa Muianga & Liocadia Manhica and a dramatic 2-1 (22-20, 13-21, 17-15) upset of the top-seeded team, Taina Silva Bigi & Victoria Lopes Pereira Tosta. Hence, Taina & Victoria became the only Brazilian team who have yet to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Second-seeded Josemari Alves & Juliana Felisberta Da Silva went through the first leg in Pool B with a bye, before hammering out a 2-0 (21-6, 21-13) straight-setter against fellow Brazilians Rafaela Gouvea Fares & Flavia Moura Santos Cezar. The latter finished pool runners-up, but are set to get a bye in the first elimination round and play in the quarterfinals.
Bottom-seeded Vitoria De Souza Rodrigues & Vanilda dos Santos Leao of Brazil started their day with a hard-earned 2-1 (21-19, 18-21, 18-16) victory over Canada’s Darby Dunn & Molley McBain, but then cruised to a 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) upset of third-seeded Americans Audrey Nourse & Nicole Nourse in the Pool C final.
“I am changing my behaviour during the games and I have been telling Val how much the energy can be a factor. So I’m just trying to play happily and hope to keep going like this,” said 19-year-old Vitoria, this year’s U21 world champion.
“I have been away from the World Tour for a few years and I’m very glad to be back. The arena is very nice and the crowd is really making the difference for all athletes with their support,” added Val, who at the age of 42 is celebrating 20 years in beach volleyball.
In Pool D, the only one featuring just two teams, Brazil’s Andressa Cavalcanti Ramalho & Diana Bellas Romariz Silva, seeded fourth, defeated fifth-seeded Czech sisters Anna Dostalova & Magdalena Dostalova 2-0 (21-12, 21-10) and jumped straight to the quarters.
Three first-round matches on Saturday are set to determine the remaining three quarterfinalists at Miguel Pereira.
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