From the shores of India to Spain, Austrian beach stars Seidl/Pristauz and Hammarberg/Berger have been making waves in recent international competitions.
In Goa, where all six medals in the men’s and women’s competitions went to European duos, Austrian champions Seidl/Pristauz celebrated their comeback and claimed a well-deserved gold.
After eight long matches, during which they also eliminated compatriots Hörl/Horst, they finally climbed to the top of the podium in Goa. In both of their last two matches, Seidl/Pristauz had to overcome setbacks to take the win in a tight tie-breaker. In the semifinal, they won over the English Bello-brothers (18-21, 21-14, 15-13), taking revenge after losing to them in August’s EuroBeachVolley in Vienna. And in the final, the Austrian duo beat the Spanish veterans Herrera/Gavira with a dramatic victory (18-21, 21-16, 17-15). The third place went to the Bello-brothers in a forfeit win over Germans Lukas Pfretzschner and Sven Winter.
In the women’s competition, the gold medal went to Swiss beach stars Vergé-Dépré/Mäder, their first medal on the Pro Tour. This is a great comeback for the team that had been sidelined for several months due to Mäder’s shoulder injury that she sustained at last year's World Championships in Rome. Silver went to the Germans Borger/Ittlinger while Spain’s Álvarez/Moreno completed the podium.
In the recent men’s competition in Mallorca, Austrian up-and-comers Hammarberg/Berger showed their talents once again and stood on top of another all-European podium. Though their final opponents in the tournament were none other than three-time Olympian Aleksandrs Samoilovs and his younger brother Mihails, Hammarberg/Berger beat the Latvians in straight sets (21-18, 22-20). The bronze medal went to Lithuanians Arnas Rumsevicius and Tomas Stasevicius, who beat the Spanish Huerta-brothers in a tie-breaker (21-17, 19-21, 15-11).
In the week prior, a women’s tournament was also held in Mallorca, with the Belgian duo Cools/Van den Vonder on top of the podium, who beat Spanish Florian/Munar in the final match. The third place went to Italians Frasca/Gradini.
Several of Europe's beach stars are already competing in their next international competition in Haikou, China this week, including Bello/Bello, Samoilovs/Samoilovs and Herrera/Gavira in the men's competition, and Vergé-Dépré/Mäder and Borger/Ittlinger in the women's competition.
