The home crowd went wild as Katharina Schützenhöfer and Lena Plesiutschnig kept their nerves to win their qualifying round match against US team Hailey Harward and Kylie Kuyava-DeBerg 2-0 (21-14, 31-29) on Tuesday afternoon.
Despite the afternoon heat, countless fans turned out to take in the spectacle on the first day of the A1 Beach Pro Vienna 2024. And they were rewarded with a thrilling duel.
The Austrians started strong, racking up a significant point lead to take the first set. But Harward/DeBerg were back on the offensive in the second set, repeatedly warding off the resurgent Schützenhöfer/Plesiutschnig. Again and again, the US team looked on the verge of winning the set. But again and again, the Austrian pair stopped them to set up match points. Stunning rallies, spectacular saves – the last 10 minutes were punctuated by nail-biting drama.
Having now qualified for the next round, Schützenhöfer/Plesiutschnig will barely get a moment to breathe as they play their next match at 7 p.m., where they will face Ukraine's Maryna Hladun and Tetiana Lazarenko.
