The roar from the Red Bull Beach Arena was probably heard beyond Vienna's city limits on Friday afternoon as Austria's top duo, Julian Hörl and Alexander Horst, beat Australia's Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher 2-0 (21-19, 21-16). The crucial result means they are now through to the next round.
It was a make or break match for both teams, who had yet to score a victory in their group. The Austrians took the lead from the start of the first set and managed to hold off the Australians, helped in part by a series of service aces by former vice-world champion Horst. Even a last-minute surge by Carracher/Nicolaidis did nothing to break their focus and they confidently took the point.
The second set proceeded in much the same manner. Storm clouds started rolling in over Vienna and the Australian pair took the lead for the first time in the game at 12-11. But it was short-lived. On their first match point, Hörl/Horst took the win, setting off a thunder of cheers and applause.
"We made a lot of errors but the fans spurred us on and made us play the best we could", Horst said after the match in a nod to the crowd.
