Gulnara Fattakhetdinova/Ekaterina Kirgizova played against Lady Correa/Patricia Diaz. The beginning of the match was easy for our players. The Russian duo won the first set 6/1. They were leading in the first set. Then the defensive game of the Venezuelan team became more sophisticated and they were able to level up the score. After several match balls not only did the Venezuelan team level up the score but also won in the tie-break the second set with the score 7/6. No wonder that such a turn of events had influenced the Russian players. The decisive party was tough for our duo. However thanks to the outstanding stamina, the support of the crowd and their own skills Gulnara and Ekaterina finally won the match with the final score 6/1, 6/7, 6/4.
- It was a very tough match. We played well, fought a lot but couldn’t convert our advantage and got a little upset. It was the reason we couldn’t end the match in two sets. We are happy we could turn the match around. You can’t imagine how hungry we were for the win. We played every point. It worked. Compared to our first match, we are playing much better with Katia. Our opponents are of a higher level compared to our opening match. One of the girls [from the Venezuelan team] is in top-10. In situations like this you always have to believe in yourself’, said Gulnara Fattakhetdinova after the match.
Nikita Burmakin/Sergey Kuptsov defeated Ramon Guedez/JorgePenalver 6/2, 7/5. The whole match was dictated by the Russian duo. But at the end of the second set the duo from Venezuela could cope with the pressure and broke their opponents but could not convert this advantage further in the match. Russia will face Italy in the semifinals.
The Italian team had no troubles in their quarterfinal matches and outplayed Portugal 3-0.
The defending champions, the Brazilians, could win a very tough rubber against the Spaniards. They had to play the mixed doubles matches to decide the outcome of the tie. Joana Cortez/Vinicius Font defeated Antonio Ramos/Maria Rosa Sitja 3/6, 6/3, 6/3.
‘Playing the decider is always tough. At the beginning of the match we just didn’t know how to play and then I started missing the overheads. But these matches are the important ones. The support of the crowd is always like this when we [the Brazilians] play volley, football or beach tennis’, said Vinicius Font after the mixed doubles.
