With the top two teams in each of the 12 pools guaranteed a place in the Round of 32 – the four best-ranked third-placed duos will also advance, while the remaining eight will need to go through a ‘lucky loser’ round -, Menegatti and Gottardi have booked their spots in the elimination rounds when they overcame the Austrian Klinger sisters Ronja and Dorina in the tie-breaker (21-9, 18-21, 15-10) at the Tlaxcala Bullring.
“It was a really tough match,” Gottardi said about the victory over the Austrians. “I’m very happy that we managed to win it. We’re very pleased with the result and we hope we can do better tomorrow, in our last pool match.”
The Italians, who had swept Costa Ricans Kianny Quesada and Angel Williams in their opening match on Saturday, now share the top spot in Pool J with Americans Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles, who also remain undefeated. A duel between the two teams on Monday will determine first and second places, but both tandems will advance directly to the Round of 32.
“We played well in the first two matches and we hope we can find an even better rhythm going forward,” Gottardi added. “We hope we can play our best against the Americans, but also enjoy ourselves and have fun on the court.”
Beach Volleyball World Championships - Match Schedule and Results
In five other pools, two teams have also won their first two matches and are guaranteed in the Round of 32. That’s the case in Pool A, where defending champions Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa and Ana Patrícia Ramos of Brazil and France’s Lézana Placette and Alexia Richard of France remain undefeated.
