Competing in his first SWATCH FIVB World Tour event in his home country since capturing a silver medal at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Pablo Herrera teamed with Raul Mesa to win their opening match here Thursday in the US$350,000 Hyundai Open Barcelona on the Placa Carles Buigas.
Seeded ninth in the 32-team men's Main Draw, Herrera and Mesa scored a 21-19 and 21-19 win in 47 minutes over 24th-seeded Francisco Alvarez and Oney Ramirez Bernal of Cuba to advance to a second-round match in the Hyundai Open Barcelona winner's bracket against eighth-seeded Riccardo Lione and Matteo Varnier of Italy.
"It is great having a SWATCH stop in Spain again," said the 25-year old Herrera, who captured his Olympic medal with Javier Bosma, now the Hyundai Open Barcelona competition director. "For me, this was just another match against another very good Beach Volleyball team. Like any team, our goal is to win every match and advance to the next round."
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