Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler moved into the quarterfinals with another straight win Thursday morning in Rotterdam. The fourth seeded Germans defeated Russia’s Evgenia Ukolova and Ekaterina Birlova 2-0 (21-18, 24-22).
With reaching the last eight, the German veterans at least bettered their previous finishes at the World Championships: 9th in Rome (2011) and 17th in Stavanger (2009) and Stare Jablonki (2013).
"The feeling is amazing”, Semmler said. “We felt a little pressure before the game. We knew we could win this game, but we lost to them the last time we met. We knew it was going to be a fight. But we had a lot of fun on the court.”
The Germans were trailing towards the end of the second set, but didn’t panic, Semmler said. “When we were down three points in the second set we were still able to focus and in the end it worked out pretty well for us. We kept our nerves."
And under the watchful eye of FIVB president Dr. Ary Graca, who visited the Rotterdam venue Thursday morning, Holtwick and Semmler secured the quarterfinals on their fourth match point.