Pinarella di Cervia, July 27, 2019 – Grant Goldschmidt and Leo Williams, and Florian Ertl and Johannes Kratz will be aiming to go from the qualifying round to the gold medal match on Sunday after they reached the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Pinarella di Cervia 1-Star semifinals on Saturday.
However, standing in their way are the first and second seeds Maksim Hudyakov and Igor Velichko, and Maxim Sivolap and Artem Yarzutkin.
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South Africans Goldschmidt and Williams set up their clash against Russia’s Hudyakov and Velichko by enjoying a 2-1 (21-19, 17-21, 15-13) victory over Jakob Windisch and Matteo Ingrosso, the highest ranked Italian side.
The match is a repeat of their clash in the pool phase which the Russians won 2-0 (21-16, 21-16).
If Goldschmidt and Williams finish with a medal it will be their second on the World Tour after they won silver at the Kg Speu 1-Star in Cambodia in March.
Ertl and Kratz also beat Italian opposition to stay on course for their first World Tour medal. They defeated Tobia Marchetto and Alberto Di Silvestre 2-0 (22-20, 21-19) and will now take on Russia’s Sivolap and Yarutkin.
The Pinarella di Cervia 1-Star runs from July 25 to July 28 and is being played in a 2,000-capacity arena in the beachside resort on Italy’s north-east coast.
