Lausanne, Switzerland, February 14, 2019 – For Alvaro Filho there is no better player to learn from than Ricardo Santos. The Brazilians are again in tandem on the court and have already played two FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournaments together since they reunited in October 2018.
The 28-year-old Alvaro and 44-year-old Ricardo won their first gold since their return as a team when they topped the podium at the Sao Luis leg of the Brazil Beach Volleyball Circuit.
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Next on their list is the 4-Star Katara Open in Doha that runs from March 12-16. The tournament in Qatar marks the start of a busy period for the duo that also features the Hamburg 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, the start of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualifying and the Lima 2019 Pan-American Games.
“I am always trying to learn from him,” Alvaro told the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation (CBV) website. “This year we have the World Championships and the Pan American Games, in 2020 we will have the Olympic Games. These are competitions that every athlete dreams of participating in.
“We will work hard to develop even more. We know our goals and how high the level is of the other Brazilian teams, so we will have to have earned a place as representatives of our country.”
Alvaro and Ricardo played together for one and a half seasons, in 2013 and 2014. They won silver at the Mazury 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, and one gold, one silver and two bronze on the World Tour.
Midway through 2014 they went their separate ways, though soon after Alvaro won gold at the Stare Jablonki Grand Slam with Pedro Solberg. They returned to play the Vitoria Open in 2006, but it wasn’t until the Las Vegas 4-Star in October that they returned as a fulltime duo.
The year ahead will be Ricardo’s 15th on the World Tour and the 4-Star Katara Open will be his 237th tournament. Hamburg 2019 will be his ninth World Championships and while he has every colour medal in his collection, another would make up for missing the Austria 2017 World Championships.
“What I admire most is Ricardo's mentality, his psychological strength. He has the mind of a champion,” Alvaro said. “He has won everything and still remains motivated. Some athletes end up relaxing after winning a major tournament, but he continues with a champion’s hunger to keep challenging himself, keep on learning new things, improve every day and win new titles.
“It is an example to train more, to always get better. If I can reach the age of 40 with some of the energy he displays now, it will be great.”