Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel : The Dutch Goldies !!
source photo: FIVB
Marleen Van Iersel and Sanne Keizer, whose previous best finish at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour was a bronze at the Osaka Open in 2009, defeated Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 15-21, 26-24 and 15-13 to be crowned champions in Shanghai with six straight wins.
Marleen joy – Live photos
“It’s a great feeling, Shanghai is our town,” said Sanne Keizer after winning the worldwide live televised women’s gold medal match in front of a full stadium in Jinshan. “We are very excited, we don’t know what to say. This is the first time we ever made it to the final on the World Tour, now we won gold, so that’s our big victory, that’s very exciting.”
Trailing by 14-9 in the tiebreaker, Kessy – April managed to beat off four match points to make it a one-point game, only to find Sanne Keizer come up big with a smash to conclude the match in 62 minutes.
“It felt terrible, it made us very nervous,” said Sanne Keizer. “We had a gap of four points, that was good for us. We needed to keep the gap to finish the game and we did it just in time. We expected it to be very hard to win this game, but it was possible, and we achieved the possible things.”
“This is the first, I hope many will follow,” added Marleen Van Iersel, who split the top prize of $30,000 with Sanne. “That’s the goal for us.”
The victory also improved Marleen Van Iersel and Sanne Keizer’s head-to-head record against Jennifer Kessy and April Ross to 2-6. Having had to win six contenders’ matches to make the semifinals, where they beat compatriots Brooke Hanson and Lauren Fendrick in 21-17 and 21-15.
Shangai women podium
source photo: FIVB
Earlier on Sunday, Austria’s fifth seeds Stefanie Schwaiger and Doris Schwaiger outlasted American qualifiers Hanson/Fendrick 21-19, 21-23 and 15-12 for the bronze medal.
Women Final Ranking
RANKINGS | Main draw
| Rk. | Team | Country | Points | Earnings (US$) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keizer-Van Iersel | NED |  |
600 | 30’000.00 |
| 2 | Kessy-Ross | USA |  |
540 | 21’000.00 |
| 3 | Schwaiger-Schwaiger | AUT |  |
480 | 15’000.00 |
| 4 | Fendrick-Hanson | USA | |
420 | 11’200.00 |
| 5 | Larissa-Juliana | BRA |  |
360 | 9’100.00 |
| Talita-Antonelli | BRA | |
360 | 9’100.00 | |
| 7 | Xue-Zhang Xi | CHN |  |
300 | 7’600.00 |
| Cicolari-Menegatti | ITA |  |
300 | 7’600.00 | |
| 9 | Bawden-Palmer | AUS |  |
240 | 6’000.00 |
| Maria Clara-Carol | BRA | |
240 | 6’000.00 | |
| Y. Huang-Yue Y. | CHN | |
240 | 6’000.00 | |
| Goller-Ludwig | GER |  |
240 | 6’000.00 | |
| 13 | Klapalova-Hajeckova | CZE |  |
180 | 4’250.00 |
| Mullin-Dampney | GBR |  |
180 | 4’250.00 | |
| Saka-Rtvelo | GEO |  |
180 | 4’250.00 | |
| Akers-Branagh | USA | |
180 | 4’250.00 | |
| 17 | Hansel-Montagnolli | AUT | |
120 | 2’800.00 |
| Kolocova-Slukova | CZE | |
120 | 2’800.00 | |
| Nystrom-Nystrom | FIN |  |
120 | 2’800.00 | |
| Köhler-Sude | GER | |
120 | 2’800.00 | |
| Gioria-Momoli | ITA | |
120 | 2’800.00 | |
| Kadijk R.-Mooren | NED | |
120 | 2’800.00 | |
| Kuhn-Zumkehr | SUI |  |
120 | 2’800.00 | |
| Hochevar-Fopma | USA | |
120 | 2’800.00 | |
| 25 | Vieira-Lili | BRA | |
60 | 2’000.00 |
| Wang Fan-Y.Y. Ma | CHN | |
60 | 2’000.00 | |
| Liliana-Baquerizo | ESP |  |
60 | 2’000.00 | |
| Holtwick-Semmler | GER | |
60 | 2’000.00 | |
| Candelas-Garcia | MEX |  |
60 | 2’000.00 | |
| Wesselink-Meppelink | NED | |
60 | 2’000.00 | |
| Maaseide-Ingrid | NOR |  |
60 | 2’000.00 | |
| Kolosinska-Brzostek | POL |  |
60 | 2’000.00 | |