What a duel! Dutch duo Leon Luini and Christiaan Varenhorst are through to the next round after defeating local pair Mathias Seiser and Philipp Waller 2-1 (21-15, 19-21, 16-14) in their men's qualifier at the A1 Beach Pro Vienna 2024.
It was the last chance for a second Austrian team to join the already qualified Hörl/Horst in the later stages of the men's competition, after Hammarberg/Berger and Seidl/Leitner fell to their opponents in their first round of qualifying matches earlier Wednesday. But it wasn't to be.
After taking the first set with relative ease, Luini/Varenhorst faced a dogged Austrian pair who refused to die and fought for every point, spurred on by an exuberant home crowd. Seiser/Waller's efforts paid off and the match went into a third set for the third time of the day at the Red Bull Beach Arena.
An unfortunate encounter with the courtside LED panels as Leon Luini tried to make a save early on led to a medical timeout. But the Dutchman was soon back on his feet, although the abrasions on his left knee certainly hobbled him for the rest of the match. Service errors by both sides kept up the suspense and Austria saved two match points. But in the end, it was the men in orange who came out victorious.
Luini/Varenhorst will next play Australia's McHugh/Burnett at 5 p.m. in round 2 of the men's qualifiers.
