Two Dutch pairs into semis of Xiamen Beach Volleyball Grand Slam

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Two Dutch pairs into semis of Xiamen Beach Volleyball Grand Slam

(Xinhua) 19:33, October 25, 2013

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Dutch reigning world champions Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen set up a men's semifinal clash with compatriots Jon Stiekema/Christiaan Varenhorst here Friday in the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Xiamen Grand Slam.

Brouwer/Meeuwsen, who had been crowned at the world championships in Poland in July, swept Greece's dark horses Kotsilianos Georgios/Zoupani Nikos 2-0 (21-12, 21-17) in 32 minutes in the quarterfinals Friday afternoon for their fifth straight win in Xiamen and a berth in Saturday morning's semifinals.

"It's very nice! In the last tournament of the season, it will be great to finish it with the best results possible. We're going for it tomorrow, " said Meeuwsen.

"I think we performed at a good level all season long, with one big win, like you already said. I am pretty satisfied, but it will be nice to get nice results here as a finish."

Meeuwsen thought it was no coincidence that two teams from the Netherlands made it into the top four in the windy weather in Xiamen.

"We used to praticed in the wind a lot in our country, so we are used to this condition. It's no coincidence that we're both in," he added.

The 20th seeded Stiekema/Varenhorst beat Italy's Alex Ranghieri/Andrea Tomatis in straight sets (21-17, 21-17) to meet Brouwer/Meeuwsen in the semifinals.

"We are excited of course. It was almost like a home game for us with the wind. In the Netherlands we have the same weather," said Varenhorst. "In the condition like this, I think we can reach the final and maybe win the gold."

Italy's 11th seeds Nicolai Paolo/Daniele Lupo eliminated seventh seeded Evandro Goncalves Oliveira/Emanuel Rego of Brazil 2-0 (21-15, 21-16) to make the semifinals for the third time in their fifth trip to China.

"I like to play in China! It's different to play (in windy conditions). We have focused on the match and we played better than our opponents, so we are proud of this," said Paolo. "Emanuel is like the history of the sport, a legend. So we are proud of ourselves."

Paolo and Lupo will also go for the chamionship. "We try to win the tournmanent every time we play, we'll try to do that and we are ready for this. We have a good season, but sometimes we lost some matches with our mistakes. So we have to stay focused and prepare for the next match. "

In the last quarterfinal match, 10th seeded Alison Cerutti/Vitor Goncalves Felipe rallied past Jacob Gibb/Casey Patterson of the United States 2-1 (11-21, 23-21, 15-11) to remain as the only Brazilian tandem in the title contention following the elimination of Pedro/Bruno and Ricardo/Alvaro.

The double gender Xiamen Grand Slam is the last of a record 10 Grand Slam events on the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar with the men's and women's semifinal and final matches set for Saturday and Sunday respectively.