They were challenged by Brazil’s Liliane Maestrini and Maria Clara Salgado in the third match of Main Draw. Both teams had similar 2-0 record in their previous two matches of the tournament. However, the Americans snapped the winning streak of Brazilian by defeating them in a three-set affair on Thursday. The match ended with final score of 2-1 (21-14, 17-21, 15-10).
Top-seeded Kessy and Ross came up with great plan to beat the opponents. They started out on a good note and managed to take lead in early few minutes. Maria Clara/Lili took some time to settle down in their positions and played defensively. In the meanwhile, the American duo continued with hard hitting and added a flurry of points. The spectators witnessed an incredible show of beach volleyball in Stare Jablonki and applauded the US pair. Brazilian team trailed behind, while the pressure kept building on them. Eventually, the first set slipped from their hands as Kessy/Ross sent achieved the set points at 21-14.
In the second set, raged-up Brazilian duo followed a different approach and struggled to come out of the blues. It was not easy to break the rhythm of charged-up Americans, but spirited effort of Maria Clara-Lili allowed them to push the opponents behind. The hard work paid off and Team Brazil captured the second set of the match with four-point lead, 21-17.
The game-score tied at the end of set-2 and the match entered a 15-point golden set. Third decisive set put both sides to a real test of skills and temperament. The early half of the set featured a balanced action from both sides. However, the American duo paced things in the latter half and forced the Brazilians to stay behind. Kessy/Ross closed third set at 15-10 and pulled off success in the match.
Kessy/Ross will return to action in the next stage of the Main Draw, where top-16 pairs will come into stride. They have bright prospects to reach the final four of the competition.
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