Hamburg, Germany, August 23, 2017 - Agatha Bednarczuk and Eduarda "Duda" Lisboa of Brazil cruised to an opening win here Wednesday at the US$800,000 SWATCH FIVB World Tour Finals by defeating an "young" Swiss team.
Seeded fourth in Pool D at the Rothenbaum Stadium event, Agatha and Duda posted a 2-0 (21-15, 21-17) win in 35 minutes over 12th-seeded Nina Betschart and Tanja Hüberli of Switzerland. It was the Agatha and Duda's third-straight win in as many FIVB World Tour meetings as the two teams had met earlier this season in Brazil and The Netherlands.
Both pairs conclude group action Thursday against fifth-seeded Lauren Fendrick and April Ross of the United States. Betschart and Hüberli will meet the Americans first at 11 a.m. (local time) on the Rothenbaum side court with Agatha and Barbara playing Fendrick and Ross at 5 p.m.
With Agatha the "seasoned" veteran in the match at 34, Duda is the youngest player in the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Finals as she just turned 19 earlier this month. The Swiss are the youngest team with Betschart 21 and Hüberli 24.