Austrians starlets bow out bravely against Brazil

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A packed Center Court watch on as the Austrian boys battle against Brazil. Photocredit: Mike Ranz.

Proud but disappointed was the overriding emotion of Austria’s Moritz Pristauz-Telsnigg after he and Martin Ermacora dramatically exited the A1 Major Klagenfurt in heart-breaking fashion.

The young duo, nicknamed M&M, came up against one of their all-time heroes on Center Court in the shape of all-conquering Brazilian legend Ricardo – who, at 41, is double their age.

Despite taking a breathtaking first set and having more than matched their illustrious opponent and his younger teammate Andre, the Austrians fell to a gut-wrenching defeat.

But Moritz was still smiling afterwards having experienced an incredible encounter in his first Swatch Major Series tournament on Austrian sand.

“It’s amazing to play such a good guy given all that he has achieved in the sport,” said the young defender about Ricardo. “I mean he’s the same age as us combined!

“It’s such an experience and I don’t think we will realize what we’ve been through for another few days.

“It’s been crazy, but we’re happy how we have performed this week – we’ve shown what is possible if we work hard – and if we can continue to work hard than anything can be achieved.

“We know we’ve got to keep our cool and not get carried away because we know there will be games when we don’t have such a crowd supporting us. The challenge now for us is that we must try to play at the same level as we have this week.”

It was double disappointment for Austria in the match that followed as Huber/Seidl were beaten by Latvians Samoilovs/Smedins meaning the host nation’s beach volleyball crazy fans will have to find a new team to support on Saturday and Sunday!

It’s a busy day tomorrow – here’s the full schedule and don’t forget every match can be watched on our live stream and all the information can be found on the super helpful A1 Beach App (in Austria only).