Brazilian stars head home as Europeans cause an upset

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No more high-fiving for Brazil! Photocredit: Bernhard Horst.

Forget the Brexit in the UK –  there was Bra-exit at the Poreč Major as Brazilians Larissa/Talita and Agatha/Barbara tumbled out of the second knockout stage on Friday morning.

Agatha/Barbara were first to face a shock elimination as they were beaten by German duo Karla Borger and Britta Büthe in straight sets on Court 3.

On Center Court meanwhile, reigning Poreč Major winners and World Champions Larissa/Talita won the first set and looked on course for a place in the quarterfinals.

But opponents Marta Menegatti and Viktoria Orsi Toth, who had beaten the Brazilians on the Copacabana earlier in the Tour, had other ideas and the match turned on its head in the second set. After winning that Menegatti/Orsi Toth then took control in the decider to seal a stunning victory.

It’s been a tournament of shocks so far, especially in the women’s tournament – but now both the German and Italian teams now face each other in a showdown later today with a place in the semifinal at stake.

“Wow, wow, wow,” shouted a delighted Marta after the win. “We woke up this morning and decided to fight for every ball until the end and it worked!

“There was no pressure on us, we just believed we could beat them. There was a good feeling on court, we were patient and just kept fighting.”

The German were also delighted. “I’m always happy to beat Brazil,” Karla told us afterwards. “We can improve because we still made some mistakes but I don’t care who we play next…give me a beach volleyball team and we’ll play them.”

There was some good news for the Brazilians, however, as two teams - Maria Antonelli and Lili Maestrini and Fernanda/Josi made it through to the last eight with a win over Canadians Broder/Valjas.

There are two other German teams left too - Ludwig/Walkenhorst and Laboureur/Sude. These quarterfinal matches take place later today – and you can catch all the action on our live stream!

Happiness happening for Menegatti/Orsi Toth. Photocredit: Bernhard Horst.