truebluefan

Phuket, Thailand, November 2, 2007 - The two teams that competed for the gold medal at the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Championships this past July in Switzerland won quarterfinal matches here Friday afternoon to advance to the semi-finals of US$200,000 Phuket Thailand Open powered by ptt.



China’s Jia Tian and Jie Wang, the No. 2-ranked team on the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour point’s list, joined reigning Olympic championships Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh of the United States in winning a pair of matches each here Friday to advance to Saturday’s semi-finals against teams still competing in the Phuket Thailand Open contender’s bracket on Karon Beach.



The Phuket Thailand Open semi-final appearance is the second for both teams as Tian and Wang placed second last season after losing the gold medal match to Chinese rivals Chen Xue and Xi Zhang, who defeated May-Treanor and Walsh. The Americans rebounded from the defeat to capture the bronze medal by beating Nila Ann Hakedal and Ingrid Torlen in the third-place match.



“It has been a long season and we have now played in 24 tournaments since the first of April,” said Walsh after her team’s 21-18 and 21-12 win over American rivals Tyra Turner and Rachel Wacholder in their semi-final-qualifying match. “We still have enough left as we’ll play only one match the next two days in this heat and humidity. We look forward to finishing the season on a high note, but we’ll face two quality teams the next two days.”



With their 17th-straight win against the 13th-seeded Turner and Wacholder, including four on the SWATCH tour, the top-seeded May-Treanor and Walsh will carry a 39-match winning streak into the semi-finals as the Americans will face either a team from Brazil or Germany in the semi-finals. Overall, May-Treanor and Walsh have a 51-1 SWATCH record this season.



May-Treanor and Walsh have now advanced to 48 SWATCH semi-finals since forming their partnership 55 FIVB events ago in 2001. The pair has 45 international Beach Volleyball podium placements as May-Treanor and Walsh are one gold medal short of tying Brazil’s Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede for the most FIVB titles at 31.



Tian and Jian, who are playing internationally for the first-time since mid-August when the Chinese placed second in Aland, Finland, gained their 19th SWATCH “final four” berth in 29 FIVB starts with a 21-13 and 21-13 win over 14th-seeded Rieke Brink-Abeler and Hella Jurich of Germany.



The second-seeded Tian and Wang won the 2007 SWATCH season opening event in Shanghai but have six seconds and three thirds in their next 13 events this year. The Chinese, who dropped a 21-16 and 21-10 decision to May-Treanor and Walsh in the SWATCH-FIVB World Championships, handed the Americans their only setback this season in the Norwegian Grand Slam semi-finals (21-19 and 21-19) in Stavanger.



Saturday’s play opens with the final two rounds of elimination play as fifth-seeded Talita Antunes/Renata Ribeiro face the 11th-seeded Salgado sisters (Maria Clara and Carolina) in an All-Brazilian contender’s bracket match with the winners facing Brink-Abeler and Jurich for a semi-final spot opposite of May-Treanor and Walsh.



Fourth-seeded Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs play seventh-seeded Lu Wang and Man Zuo of China in an opening contender’s bracket match with the victors playing Turner and Wacholder for a “final four” berth opposite of Tian and Wang.



The double-elimination Phuket Thailand Open, the last of 17 women’s events on the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour, concludes Sunday afternoon with the medal matches. The gold medal winners will share the $32,000 first-place prize while adding 60 points to their qualifying total for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. May-Treanor and Walsh rank first in Olympic points (5,660) with Tian and Wang tied for second (5,200) with Brazil’s Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca for their best eight finishes on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour.