The Cubans Noslen Díaz and Jorge Luis Alayo returned this Saturday to the sands of the city of Adelaide, in Australiawith the same idea outlined in their debut: sentence their rivals as quickly as possible, because they know that with each step the slope becomes steeper towards the dream of an unprecedented medal in a World Championship. beach volleyball.
On the other side of the net they now had the New Zealanders Fuller and O’Dea who, with nothing to lose given their inferiority on paper, tried to offer their best version before falling in straight sets with partials of 21-16 and 21-10.
Nothing different is expected from the main Cuban duo, which began the tournament in 11th place in the world rankings and with the mission of crossing the border of the dreaded direct elimination match for the first time.
As in their debut against the Benin boys, they were relentless in the face of every mistake made by their opponents – 15 in the entire match -, aware that they had to save their strength for their next performance, perhaps crucial for their aspirations.
According to the official statisticsAlayo led the offensive by signing 12 of the 21 cards obtained thanks to the attack, and on his account were the only three blocks that the Antillean couple achieved during the clash.
Díaz and Alayo open with a comfortable victory in the Beach Volleyball World Cup
The Portuguese Pedrosa and Campos are now emerging from the horizon to up the ante, with the leadership of the key at stake, which would entail a next crossing with a presumably more affordable rival.
The Lusitanians also have two victories, but with the difference of having lost in a round of their duel against the representatives of Benin in their second appearance.
Youthful freshness
Although they arrived at the universal event due to a circumstantial issue, the young Cubans Damián Gómez and Eblis Veranes made it clear that they did not arrive in Austria as stone guests and once again left a hopeful image on the sand.
Although they suffered their second defeat in the tournament, it can be said that the level rose from one to the next, as evidenced by the set they won against the Austrians Hammarberg and Berger, no less than the 12th place holders in the world rankings.
They stood up against them without complexes to bring success in the initial round with a score of 21-19, but in the following ones logic prevailed and the Europeans tipped the balance in their favor with scores of 21-15 and 15-9.
Hours before, the Cubans had offered resistance, but ended up swept away by the Qataris Cherif and Tijan, one of the couples with the best chance of fighting for the competition’s prizes.
Gómez and Veranes will close their forays into the J key, facing the Swiss Haussener and Friedli, anchored in 32nd place in the ranking. Without the pressure that comes with knowing themselves as favorites, plus the short experience acquired in previous duels, they could continue to produce surprising performances before the farewell.
