Perušic and Schweiner triumph on home soil at Prague 2-Star World Tour event

Czech Beach Volleyball stars Ondrej Perušic and David Schweiner confirmed their role as favourites of the 2-Star World Tour event held in Prague. In the final they defeated Germany’s Philipp Arne Bergmann and Yannick Harms in three sets and won their second World Tour title. In the women’s competition, the Brazilians Thamela/Elize Maia reigned supreme.

Home stars Ondrej Perušic and David Schweiner celebrate their triumph on home sand in Prague

It was much colder than in the previous days at the Ládví Beach Club for the semi-final and final matches on Sunday, but even the bad weather did not prevent the fans from coming together for the real climax of the competition. They filled the stands to the last seat and created a great atmosphere that helped the Czech players win the most valuable medal. “They drove us forward. Home tournaments are something incredible for us thanks to such great spectators, and we thank them,” the 200 cm tall Schweiner said after the semis.

Perušic and Schweiner made their way to the final with ease – as they defeated the Swedish duo David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig 21-16, 21-13. They had respect for their unpredictable young opponents before the match, focussed on their serve, did not allow their opponents to develop their typical tricky combinations and deservedly advanced to the last stage of the competition.

The match for the gold was even until the end, as both teams delivered a great performance. The Czechs won the first set 21-17, the second set went to Bergmann and Harms by the same score. Perušic and Schweiner took the lead in the tie-break and converted the first match point at 14-9. “We like exciting matches, but our coach does not,” laughed the winners immediately after securing the title.

The young Swedes managed to recover from the semi-final defeat. They won a thrilling Scandinavian derby for bronze with the Danish pair Kristoffer Abell/Jacob Stein Brinck 21-17, 19-21 and 15-8.

Brazilians Thamela and Elize Maia were the dominant force of the women’s competition, as they stormed to a 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) victory over the Swiss pair Esmée Böbner and Zoé Vergé-Dépré. The title for the South American duo was all the more valuable because Thamela was playing her first World Tour tournament in her career, while Elize Maia won her first World Tour medal six years ago at Prague’s Štvanica. The third place went to the other Brazilian women – Andressa and Vitoria – after their victory over Valentyna Davidova and Diana Lunina of Ukraine.