Brazilian and French qualifiers make it to the semifinals in Alanya
Brazilian and French Qualifiers Reach Semifinals in Alanya
With six Olympians and two teams that started in the qualifier, the mens semifinals of the Beach Pro Tour Challenge event in Alanya, Turkey, were set on Saturday.
Semifinals Schedule
- Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner (Czechia) vs. George Wanderley and Saymon Barbosa (Brazil)
- Teo Rotar and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat (France) vs. Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher (Australia)
Brazilian Duos Remarkable Run
A new team on the 2025 Beach Pro Tour, George and Saymon are set for their first semifinal appearance as partners. Their Alanya campaign started in Wednesdays qualifier and has produced six victories in as many matches – a massive improvement from their previous results of 19th at Saquarema Elite and 25th at both Yucatan Challenge and Brasilia Elite.
On Saturday, the Brazilians defeated Austrians Christoph Dressler and Philipp Waller 2-1 (15-21, 21-15, 15-12) in the Round of 16, then swept Germans Sven Winter and Lukas Pfretzschner 2-0 (21-18, 21-17) in the quarterfinals.
World Champions Advance
Reigning world champions Perusic and Schweiner took a different path, defeating Ukrainians Sergiy Popov and Eduard Reznik 2-0 (21-17, 21-19) in the Round of 16 before outlasting Austrians Tim Berger and Timo Hammarberg in a thriller (22-20, 25-27, 15-11).
French Remain Undefeated
Qualifier survivors Rotar and Gauthier-Rat reached the semifinals undefeated with five victories. The French duo, who became partners in 2025, will play for their second medal together after taking bronze in Xiamen.
They defeated compatriots Remi Bassereau and Calvin Aye 2-0 (21-19, 24-22) in the Round of 16, then eliminated Americans Miles Evans and Chase Budinger in straight sets (21-18, 21-12) in the quarterfinals.
Australians Battle Through
Paris Olympians Nicolaidis and Carracher played six sets on Saturday, defeating German Olympic medalists Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers (12-21, 21-18, 15-10) and Brazilians Renato Lima and Pedro Oliveira (21-16, 19-21, 15-10) – both in tie-breakers.
