Team USA proved too strong for home side Austria in the men's round of 12 Saturday morning. Miles Partain and Andy Benesh beat Julian Hörl and Alexander Horst 2-0 (21-15, 21-15) to book their place in the quarterfinals of the A1 Beach Pro Vienna 2024.
The two teams were initially scheduled to face off on Friday evening but stormy weather forced several matches to be rescheduled.
Partain/Benesh took the first point and never looked back but Hörl/Horst were breathing down their necks for much of the first set, saving one set point before going down. The US pair kept up the onslaught in the second set and the Austrians' best efforts to fight back and block their shots were to no avail. It was a straight-set win for the pair from California.
"We knew it was going to be a tough match," Benesh said afterwards. "We had to bring our own energy to the match", he added, joking that he hoped for more US fans in their next match, when they don't face an Austrian side.
