US gold favorites make it through to men's beach volleyball semifinals
18/8/2008 18:08
Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser of the United States earned a berth in the
last four of men's beach volleyball tournament at the Beijing Olympics
today.
The gold favorites edged out German pair David Klemperer and Eric
Koreng in straight sets (21-13,25-23).
The Americans took the first set 21-13
and reached the match point 20-18 in the second set at first. The Germans were
able to fire back and trade match points with their rivals to 23-23 before the
US team ended the set 25-23 in their favor.
The Germans, for the first time
at the Olympics, said they were happy with the fifth place at the
Olympics.
"We made a lot of risks in serving in the first set, in the second
set we changed tactics and the result was better. We could have done better but
we lost finally," said Klemperer after the match.
"But we're satisfied with
the result. We played against the world champions, and it was a very close
match," he said.
Both Rogers and Dalhausser said they were satisfied with
their performance in the match.
He played well in side-outs and blocks in the
match, said the 2.06-meter Dalhausser."I'm happy with the match," he
said.
The US duo is considered Beijing Olympics gold favorites for their
momentum of winning in prominent competitions in the past two years. They also
won the FIVB World Championships in Gstaad, Switzerland in 2007 and were
five-time FIVB World Tour gold medalists.
With a 21-match winning streak this
year, the US duo entered the Beijing Olympics and were placed first on the
Olympic qualification rankings.
Dalhausser was FIVB World Tour best blocker
in 2006 and 2007 and best hitter in 2007 while his partner was best FIVB World
Tour defensive player in 2006 and 2007.
The Americans are 1-1 this year
against Brazilians Emanuel Ricardo and Ricardo Santos, the defending Olympic
champions.
Xinhua
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