2016-06-29 21:57:00 CEST
Olympic contenders’ bad day at the office
Shock results and seamless wins on opening day of pool play
There was no drama for Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst today but other teams weren’t so lucky. Photocredit: Pedrag Vuckovic.
The first day of the women’s pool play at the Poreč Major was far from perfect for seven teams who have tickets booked for the Olympic Games in Rio.
But it was seventh heaven on a day for underdogs, as Greek pair Panagiota Karagkouni and Vasiliko Arvaniti celebrated two incredible victories to give them one massive foot in the second knockout stage.
The qualifiers saw off Olympic-bound Australian pair Bawden/Clancy in the morning before adding a second victory over another teams off to Rio – Swiss duo Forrer/Vergé-Dépré. Way to go girls!
Bawden/Clancy now face a fight to get out of the pool on a day that fellow future Olympians – Fendrick/Sweat of the United States – also suffered two shock defeats. In Pool E all the talk was about the two wins for Brazil’s Fernanda/Josi, the 21st seeds.
There was no stress or drama for the in-form teams, though. Larissa/Talita won both of their matches in Pool A, while Germans Ludwig/Walkenhorst also boast a 100 per cent record and sit on top of Pool B.
The same can be said for another German team – Borger/Büthe. The pair who went head-to-head on Tuesday to decide who would captain the team at the Olympics in Rio – won both matches in Pool G with victories over Austria and China.
But perhaps the happiest story of the day belongs to Samanta Fabris and Sara Radanovic. The pair might have lost two games but they created history by becoming the first Croatian team to win a set at a Major Series stop in their match against Broder/Valjas.
With so many shock results on Wednesday, Thursday promises to be one rollercoaster ride of emotions for all the teams chasing wins to guarantee a spot in the knockout rounds – so stay with us and follow the action on our live stream!
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