Rotterdam, the Netherlands, June 29, 2015 – While reigning world champions Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen impressed friends and foes in Rotterdam on Monday by topping the pool with a big 2-0 win over Italy, Mexico pulled a stunt of their own.
Lombardo Ontiveros and Juan Virgen, seeded 36th at the World Championships in the Netherlands, upset Stavanger champions and Moscow silver medallists Pedro Solberg and Evandro Goncalves of Brazil in just two sets: 21-18, 21-11.
“It’s a big win for us in this tournament”, Ontiveros said. “But this tournament also just started. So we want to keep improving, do even better tomorrow.”
With one more pool match to go against Tunesia, the Mexicans, who finished 17th at the World Championships in Poland two years ago, also secured top position in pool L with this spectacular win.
As pool winners they will stay in Rotterdam for the next round. “That’s a good thing. We like the city and the ship. We are both from a harbour town in Mexico, Mazatlan. Not as big as Rotterdam, but we feel right at home here.”
In pool D Grzegorz Fijalek and Mariusz Prudel will find out on Tuesday if they can call themselves pool winners. The Polish pair is still undefeated, but have one more match to go against Canada’s Josh Binstock and Sam Schachter.
German girls secure next round
Germany’s Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler won their final pool match against Czech pair Martina Bonnerova and Barbora Hermannova (21-12, 21-16) on Monday to top the pool with three out of three.
“This was our goal and I think we played our best match so far in the tournament”, Holtwick said. “We really enjoyed playing in front of this crowd. It was amazing.”
In pool L Italy and China both booked their second win. They will play each other for top position on Tuesday. It will be a rematch of the bronze medal match in Moscow a few weeks ago where Marta Menegatti and Vicky Orsi Toth ended on top.
The Italians defeated Dutch team Michelle Stiekema and Daniëlle Remmers 2-0 (21-13, 21-14) on Monday, while Wang Fan and Yuan Yue won 2-0 (23-21, 21-16) against Argentina’s Anna Galay and Georgina Klug.
Poland’s Kinga Kolosinska and Monika Brzostek and Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova from the Czech Republic will decide in a direct match on Tuesday who will win first place in pool E.