0:2 defeat

Hörl/Horst without opening luck in beach volleyball!

Julian Hörl and Alexander Horst

(Bild: GEPA)

Julian Hörl and Alexander Horst were not granted success at the start of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament in Paris!

In front of the unique backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, Austria's only representatives of this sport in Paris put up a tough fight against the favored Brazilians Evandro/Arthur, but ultimately lost 2:0 (-18,-19). "The atmosphere was sensational. There were few matches where I still had fun, even if I lost," said Horst.

(Bild: GEPA)

"It doesn't get much cooler than that!"
In both sets, Hörl/Horst were leading 10:7 and 12:9 at around the midway point, but were unable to convert this into a win. As expected, it will probably come down to the final match of preliminary round Group E on Friday against the Canadians Sam Schachter/Daniel Dearing.

Before that, the Austrians will face the Czech world champions David Schweiner/Ondrej Perusic, who started the tournament with a 2-0 win over Schachter/Dearing, on Wednesday (9 a.m.). The top two in each group will progress to the round of 16, as will the best third-placed players in the group. The remaining four third-placed teams will play off for the last two tickets for the knockout phase.

"You're sitting inside on the bench, looking at the Eiffel Tower and 15,000 people in front of you. It doesn't get much cooler than that," said Hörl. "It was a close game, we made a few mistakes that were too easy, there was a bit of initial nervousness, we can change that in the next game."

"It's full to bursting, of course that's fun!"
Horst was also gripped by the "sensational atmosphere". "It's full to bursting, of course it's fun. Nevertheless, the disappointment is there. We wanted to win, we wanted to take the lead in the head-to-head, now they're 3:2 ahead. It's the worst possible moment for this defeat." But the victory was deserved. "They took a bit more of a risk. Especially at the end with the service. It's bad luck that it ended like that with the net roller." What annoyed him most was that they gave up the lead too quickly in the middle of the set.

(Bild: GEPA)

They don't want to get angry for too long now, because the performance was generally okay. "We know what the problem is, we have to put more pressure on the service," said Horst. The high stadium with the stands was unusual. "When the ball is thrown up, there are still colorful spectators behind it. Normally there is sky or trees. That makes the view different, but it's the same for everyone." And the wind circulation is also different.