Popov and Reznik take Ukraine to the EuroBeachVolley semifinals
News
Sergiy Popov and Eduard Reznik made history for Ukrainian beach volleyball at the 2023 A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley by qualifying their country to the semifinals of the continental event for the first time on Saturday, in Vienna.
The Ukrainians will play Dutch temporary partners Yorick de Groot and Leon Luini in the first semifinal of the tournament, at 13:00. Later, at 14:15, defending champions David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden and Italians Paolo Nicolai and Samuele Cottafava will meet in the second semifinal. The dispute for bronze is scheduled for 16:30, with the gold medal match beginning at 17:45.
Popov, 31, and Reznik, 34, achieved the unprecedented result in their first EuroBeachVolley appearance as partners. While Reznik is making his debut in the tournament this year, Popov had competed three times before, the first of which was back in 2013, in Klagenfurt, and had a 17th in Moscow, in 2019, as his best result.
Sergiy Popov“This is an incredible result for us and our country. Ukraine is going through a very difficult moment now and to be able to give our people some happiness means so much for us. The organizers printed a beautiful message on our match jerseys saying ‘Love Ukraine’ in our language and we want to thank them for it.”
Ukrainian Beach Volleyball Player
Still undefeated in Vienna, the Ukrainians secured their fourth victory in tournament on Saturday, when they topped the English Bello twins Joaquin and Javier in a thrilling two-set (21-9, 22-20) battle at the Red Bull Beach Arena.
Eduard Reznik“I just want to thank my partner and our team. The fans here have been amazing too. It’s been really nice playing here in Vienna, the atmosphere is incredible and we can’t wait to get on the court again tomorrow.”
Ukrainian Beach Volleyball Player
Their opponents in the semifinals, De Groot and Luini caused the biggest upset of the tournament in the quarterfinals, eliminating reigning Olympic and world champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway with a three-set victory (16-21, 21-14, 15-11). The two just got together for this event because of an injury to De Groot’s regular partner, Stefan Boermans.
Leon Luini“It doesn’t really feel real. I think our game was just flowing, Yorick got some aces and I got some blocks. I think the fact that we’re not regular partners hurts and helps at the same time. While we don’t have a lot of time together, we also come without high expectations and that makes it easier for us to play.”
Dutch Beach Volleyball Player
The victory felt even more special to De Groot, who took silver at the 2021 EuroBeachVolley in Vienna, losing exactly to Mol and Sørum in the gold medal match.
Yorick De Groot“It’s the first time in my career I get to beat them and I’m really happy. They’re an incredibly strong team, but we played really well today. They beat me in the final here in Vienna in 2021, so to get this win was even more special.”
Dutch Beach Volleyball Player
Defending champions Åhman and Hellvig had to win a tough battle against Germans Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler to keep their hopes of winning back-to-back EuroBeachVolley titles alive, but they succeeded in their task, securing a 2-1 (24-26, 21-17, 16-14) victory in the quarterfinals.
David Åhman“They were serving really well at the start of the match and that prevented us from jump setting as much as we would have wanted. It was a really tough match and I’m glad we won it. The atmosphere in Vienna has been amazing and I was so happy to see that so many people came to watch us play even after the heavy rain. We’re really excited to play two more matches here.”
Swedish Beach Volleyball Player
Playing in their second EuroBeachVolley as partners, Nicolai and Cottafava advanced to their first semifinal in the event with a 2-1 (21-17, 19-21, 15-10) victory over Dutch Steven van de Velde and Matthew Immers in the quarterfinals.
Samuele Cottafava“It was a really tough match, we had a really big fight. I think both teams played really well and I’m happy that we managed to win it at the end. I’m really happy and excited to play in the semifinals tomorrow and hopefully we can get a couple more wins.”
Italian Beach Volleyball Player