Porec, Croatia, June 8, 2015 – Reigning World Champions Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen chose the right time to hit form with victory at the inaugural FIVB Beach Volleyball Major Series event in Porec on Sunday.
The gold is their first on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour and comes less than three weeks before the Dutch pair begin the defence of their FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships crown in front of their home fans at the Netherlands 2015.
“This is a great win,” Brouwer said. “It is great for our confidence and in a few weeks we want to defend the world title in our home country. That is a wonderful feeling.”
Brouwer and Meeuwsen were surprise gold medallists at Mazury 2013 and it was their first success on the World Tour, in which their previous aim had been to reach the quarterfinals in a tournament so that they would qualify for the next level of funding from the Nethlerands Olympic Committee.
Since then they have added three sets of silver medals, before breaking their unenviable run of three gold medal match defeats with a 2-0 (21-15 and 21-13) win over Canadian duo Josh Binstock and Sam Schachter in Porec.
“This is so great,” Meeuwsen said. “It's our first major title after the World Championships in 2013 and to come back after my slight knee injury, is very satisfying.”