As the sun started to set at the Red Bull Arena, the home crowd had a chance to cheer one more time for Katharina Schützenhöfer and Lena Plesiutschnig in their 7 p.m. game – even if they were sent home early.
After starting the day off strong by beating Americans Harward/DeBerg 2-0, the Austrian fan favorites had to admit defeat at the hands of Ukrainians Hladun/Lazarenko. The deciding factor for sure was a huge advantage in side outs on the Ukrainian side. With five blocks, they stopped all efforts from the Austrian team – and they had a final word in most of the long rallies.
This is the first time that a team from Ukraine, in either the men’s or women’s competition, will compete in the main draw of an Elite16 tournament ever! As for this week, Austria seems to be a lucky country for Hladun/Lazarenko for sure – as they also won bronze medal in last weekend’s Baden Futures event.
