PHOTO: Bildbyrån
David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig are in the final of the Beach Volleyball World Cup in Mexico after another shocker. The reigning European champions were forced to save two match points in the deciding set.
– Fantastic fun, says David Åhman to TT.
The opening of the match against Michal Bryl and Bartosz Losiak from Poland, however, did not gossip about the nervousness to come. The Swedish duo managed to break the grip in the first set and won with a clear 21-11.
– In the first set, we played incredibly well and they made some mistakes, so it was quite comfortable, says Jonathan Hellvig.
But the Poles had much more to give, it would turn out. The second set was a gas-huggingly even story, where Losiak and Bryl drew the longest straw with the smallest possible margin, 22–20.
– We had much more difficulty stopping them in the second and were responsible for more mistakes ourselves. It was even all the way and unfortunately they managed to take it home. It felt quite sour, says Jonatan Hellvig.
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The Swedish success
Thus, just like in the quarter-finals, the Swedes had to play a decisive third set. There it looked like Åhman and Hellman’s championship would end – twice they were forced to save match points.
– It is of course incredibly tough when you have match ball against you, but you just have to try to keep calm and really believe in what you are doing. You can’t be mean in these situations. It’s when you get mean that you lose the matches. We dared to go for it and in the end we managed to win, says David Ohman.
After saving the match points, the Swedes managed to turn the tables and won the set 18–16, which means that it is now time for the final.
– We really didn’t think that in advance, it’s our first WC, and to be able to play in the final feels absolutely fantastic, says David Åhman.
“Chance at gold”
The in-form Czechs Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner, who among other things managed to knock out world number one Norway, await in the final.
– We absolutely have a chance at the gold. But at the same time it will be a very, very tough match. We saw how much was required in our last two matches, so it’s important not to take anything for granted, says Jonatan Hellvig.
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