Good attack allows Dutch pair to advance from the qualifying round of 2012 Rome Grand Slam

Netherlands’ Jon Stiekema and Christiaan Varenhorst caught a good start in the 2012 SWATCH FIVB Smart Grand Slam in Rome and pulled off success in their opening matches on Wednesday, June 13.

Stiekema and Varenhorst made it through qualifying to the main draw of SWATCH FIVB event for fifth time in 2012, which is pretty impressive. Russian 25th-seeded pairing of Yutvalin and Likholetov came into contest with the Dutch duo in the tournament opener. They dropped one set but grabbed 2-1 victory in the match.

The second match put them against compatriots Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen. In all-Dutch affair, Stiekema-Varenhorst claimed the same results. They posted 2-1 (19-21, 21-14, 15-13) victory over country mates. The entire match progressed in the similar fashion. Stiekema and Varenhorst dropped the opening set but made a great comeback in the following two sets.

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German duo downs European rivals at 2012 Rome Grand Slam – Beach Volleyball

10th-seeded female duo of Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig from Germany opened the 2012 SWATCH FIVB Rome Grand Slam in an impressive way.

The duo played its first match of the Main Draw on Wednesday. Goller-Ludwig took on Liliana-Baquerizo from Spain and launched full authority on the European rivals. The German pair displayed wonderful action on the net and grabbed success in straight sets, 2-0 (21-15, 21-16).

Goller and Ludwig worked out a winning plan for the match and perfectly executed it. Flawless performance in the opening match shows their intent to grab more success in the coming matches.



 

Swiss female duo aims to make a clean sweep in Pool E of the 2012 Rome Grand Slam - Beach Volleyball

Top duo of Switzerland, which is composed of Nadine Zumkehr and Simone Kuhn, has high hopes to finish the first round of main draw without any loss.

The Swiss duo has claimed two victories in the competition so far and seems totally shaped up to win the third match in row. The 12th-seeded Zumkehr-Kuhn played their first match of Rome Grand Slam on Wednesday. They overpowered compatriots Tanja Goricanec and Muriel Graessli, who did not create much trouble for them.

In the next match on Thursday, winning Swiss duo of Kuhn-Zumkehr collided with Belgium’s Mouha-Gielen and defeated the rivals in straight sets, 2-0 (21-17, 25-23).

 Next up, Kuhn and Zumkehr are scheduled to take on home duo of Cicolari and Menegatti from Italy. The hosts will be equipped with emotional support of fans, which means the Swiss team will be required to showcase an extra-ordinary performance to win against the local duo. Nonetheless, Kuhn and Zumkehr have the potential to deal with the challenge.