PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC, May 9, 2008 - The first SWATCH FIVB World Tour stop in Europe this season is producing interesting results with reigning Olympic champions Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos the only surviving Brazilian team for this week’s US$175,000 Prague 2008 Open after out-lasting a Beach Volleyball tandem from the Netherlands here Friday to reach the winner’s bracket quarter-finals.
With three of the top-ranked teams from Beach Volleyball power Brazil being eliminated earlier Friday by losing three of four matches in the contender’s bracket, the second-seeded Emanuel and Ricardo scored a 11-21, 21-17 and 15-10 victory in 49 minutes over seventh-seeded Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil of the Netherlands.
Joining Emanuel and Ricardo in the Prague 2008 Open winner’s bracket quarter-finals with a fifth-placed guaranteed in the third of 20 men’s stops on the 2008 SWATCH FIVB World Tour, are 11th-seeded Julius Brink/Christoph Dieckmann of Germany, 13th-seeded Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal of the United States and 16th-seeded Bram Ronnes/Emiel Boersma of the Netherlands.
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