The Hague, The Netherlands, July 3, 2015 – Germans Ilka Semmler and Katrin Holtwick are up against Fernanda Alves and Taiana Lima of Brazil tonight in the semi-finals. The teams played each other twice before, the Germans won one match and the Brazilians took the other. When it comes to tonight, it looks like we are about to have an even match. The women themselves agree.
The German girls are the only team that did not lose any sets in the tournament so far. “That’s our goal for the upcoming matches as well. It gives us a lot of confidence. A lot of people ask what our secret is, but we don’t really know. We believe in ourselves and we know we can play good”, Semmler said.
After defeating USA’s Brooke Sweat and Lauren Fendrick (21-18, 21-15) in Rotterdam, Holtwick and Semmler had to leave Rotterdam. “Rotterdam was perfect, especially on the boat. But we are so happy to be in The Hague and have two more games ahead of us”, Holtwick said. “We already practiced on the centre court, which is amazing! The stadium is so big! We are pretty excited to play tonight”, Semmler added.
Fernanda and Lima have been in The Hague from the beginning of the tournament. Their win from Australia’s Louise Bawden and Taliqua Clancy (21-15, 16-21, 16-18) took them to the semi-finals. “All the matches we had so far were really hard, we really fought for it. But the energy has been amazing all week, which is good for us”, Lima said.
“The Germans are a very good team, they are very strong players. Big blocks, good defences, and good serves. We watched videos of them to prepare the best strategy for this game. But that strategy is still a secret of course!” Fernanda said on how she and Lima are preparing for the upcoming semi-final.
Both teams feel prepared. “We are always ready! I think the game is 50/50 tonight. Everybody can win and everybody can lose. But we do believe that we are able to win this match”, Fernanda said about tonight’s chances.
Holtwick and Semmler seem to agree. “Our chances are 50/50 I think, this match could go either way.” Semmler agreed and added: “We are ready and tired of waiting. We just want to go already!”