Ehlers and Wickler grind to win Hamburg Elite opener
Home Victory for German Olympic Medalists
Paris Olympic silver medalists Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler had an exciting opening match in front of their home fans at this week’s Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite event held in Hamburg on Wednesday, and fought hard to secure their first victory in the tournament.
The Germans had Swiss qualifiers Adrian Heidrich and Jonathan Jordan as their opponents in their first Pool F match at the Am Rothenbaum Stadium and had to overcome a first-set loss to come back and win 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 16-14).
Path to the Round of 12
The victory has earned the Germans a spot in the tournament’s elimination rounds, and on Thursday they will have an opportunity to upgrade it to a direct berth into the Round of 12 by playing against Polish Olympians Michal Bryl and Bartosz Losiak, who defeated French Remi Bassereau and Calvin Aye in two sets (21-15, 21-17) in the other match of the day in the pool.
Ehlers and Wickler played together in Hamburg, where they live, three times since they became partners, taking bronze on the first occasion, in 2022. Last year’s home tournament was bittersweet for the Germans, who played in their city just two weeks after winning silver in Paris, but had to prematurely exit the tournament after securing a first-round victory due to an injury sustained by Ehlers.
Other German Teams in Action
Another German team competing in the main draw in Hamburg this week, Paul Henning and Lui Wust didn’t have a successful start, losing to Swedish Jacob Holting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson in three sets (21-18, 12-21, 15-8) in their first Pool D match. In the same pool, Brazilians Evandro Goncalves and Arthur Lanci came back to beat the Chilean Grimalt cousins Marco and Esteban 2-1 (16-21, 21-17, 15-13).
The same happened to the Sagstetter brothers Jonas and Benedikt, who fell to reigning world champions Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner of Czechia in straight sets (21-17, 21-18) in Pool E. The other match of the day had Cuban Olympians Jorge Alayo and Noslen Diaz beating Dutch Matthew Immers and Ruben Penninga also in two sets (24-22, 21-14).
Defending Champions Start with a Sweep
Norwegian superstars Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, who are back in Hamburg determined to defend the title they won last year, started their campaign well, sweeping (21-12, 21-12) Austrians Alexander Horst and Moritz Pristauz in Pool A. French Arnaud Gauthier-Rat and Teo Rotar were the other team to secure a spot in the elimination rounds on Wednesday, downing Latvians Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots in straight sets (21-13, 21-17).
Pool B and C Action
In Pool B, Dutch Olympians Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot, who swept (21-19, 21-14) Italians Gianluca Dal Corso and Marco Viscovich, and the English Bello twins Javier and Joaquin, who overcame Swiss Marco Krattiger and Leo Dillier in the tie-breaker (21-11, 18-21, 15-12), were the ones getting a head start.
Reigning Olympic champions David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden, who won gold in Hamburg in 2023, were pushed by Austrians Christoph Dressler and Philipp Waller in their Pool C debut, but triumphed 2-1 (21-13, 17-21, 15-7). The Argentinean Capogrossos brothers Nicolas and Tomas also started well, beating Brazilians George Wanderley and Saymon Barbosa 2-0 (21-16, 22-20).
Tournament Schedule
The main draw continues for the men on Thursday, with the last 12 pool play matches scheduled for the afternoon and evening. The Round of 18 will be held on Friday and the Round of 12 and the quarterfinals will take place on Saturday. The tournament will come to an end on Sunday, with the semifinals and medal matches.
Photo credit: volleyballworld.com
