What. A. Morning. The A1 Major Vienna presented by Swatch got into top gear as the remaining men’s teams in the competition fought in the first elimination round.
And the big story of day four on the Danube Island was the exit of World Championship runners-up Julius Thole and Clemens Wickler. The heroes from Hamburg looked set for a place in the Last 16 after winning the first set against Gregorz Fijalek and Michal Bryl – only for Poles to fight back and win a nail-biting tie-break 15-13.
Joining the Polish team in the next phase are Qatar’s Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse who ended Austrian hopes at the tournament, beating Martin Ermacora and Moritz Pristauz in straight sets on the Red Bull Beach Arena.
Out on the side courts American veterans Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena saw off the challenge of the entertainers from Italy Adrian Carambula and Enrico Rossi in straight sets. They were the second team from the USA to also progress as Jake Gibb and Taylor Crabb also won, however a broken finger sustained to Tri Bourne meant he and Trevor Crabb had to withdraw from the tournament. That meant Nils Ehlers and Lars Flüggen advanced into the next phase without playing a game.
In the pick of the matches that will decide the quarter-final line-up, number one seeds and last year’s winners, Anders Mol and Christian Sørum, will face Italians Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai. The game takes place on the Red Bull Beach Arena at 4.30pm CEST.
In the game that follows, Alex Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen face old adversaries Lucena and Dalhausser in what will be their fourth meeting in the last month. The Dutch duo have won all three, in Tokyo, Gstaad and at the World Champs in Hamburg. Check it out at 5.30pm CEST.
