Their experience and longtime partnership played a factor in their opening match in Mexico as, besides dealing better with the feelings of a debut than their young opponents, the Europeans also managed to find ways to dominate the Asians, who combine for just 30 international events among them.
“We’re happy to start the tournament after a few days of preparation here in Mexico,” Brouwer told Volleyball World. “It’s a great feeling to get another World Championships going and, of course, winning is always nice. I think our experience was a big factor in this first match as we’ve been playing at the highest level for 15 years and our opponents haven’t. But we have some details to work on and to improve during the event.”
Beach Volleyball World Championships - Match Schedule and Results
After their opening-match victory, the Dutch will be back on the court on Sunday to face Australians Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher in their second encounter in the tournament before completing pool play on Monday against compatriots Matthew Immers and Steven van de Velde.
“Our second match against Australia should be tougher as they are stronger opponents,” Brouwer reflected. “We’ll need to improve our level to get a win on the bullring. It’s always nice to see a lot of countries from every continent taking part in the World Championships. That’s the way to grow the sport.”
Since taking gold in Stare Jablonki in 2013, Brouwer and Meeuwsen never got to return to the podium at the World Championships, getting three straight 17th-place finishes before ranking fifth last year in Rome.
