Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2014 – Konstantin Semenov and Viacheslav Krasilnikov kept alive the hopes of a home FIVB Moscow Grand Slam win when they reached the gold medal match on Sunday.
Despite an interruption of 45 minutes for heavy rain, thunder and lighting, they dominated their match against newly-crowned European champions Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo to win 2-0 (21-19, 21-14).
The win sets up a final against Grzegorz Fijalek and Mariusz Prudel from Poland, who defeated USA’s Phil Dalhausser and Sean Rosenthal 2-0 (21-16, 21-16) and means that both teams will be going for their first ever FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour golds.
“It is a very emotional moment for us,” Semenov said. “It is the first time for seven years that we have had a Russian team in a Moscow semifinal. We are very grateful to our fans who stayed here in the rain to support us.
“We hope to play as good in the final as we have just now.”
The bronze medal match takes place at 18.30 (local time) and the gold medal match follows an hour later.
The double-gender US$800,000 FIVB Moscow Grand Slam runs from Wednesday, June 11 through to Sunday June 15. It is the sixth event and the second Grand Slam on the 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar that features nine Grand Slams and 11 Open tournaments.
The 2014 World Tour began at the Fuzhou Open in China in April and concludes at the Durban Open in South Africa in December. Next up on the World Tour calendar is the Berlin Grand Slam which runs from June 17-22.