Jefferson Perreira and Cherif Younnousse are into a World Tour semifinals for the first time after they defeated Mexico’s Lombardo Ontiveros and Juan Virgen 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) in Kish Island Open on Thursday.
The pair quickly grabbed control of the match and didn’t let go despite the Mexican duo’s best efforts. The result eclipses their quarterfinal finish from the Netherlands 2015, FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, the Qatari pair’s previous best finish.
“They are a good team and we were in the same pool,” Cherif said. “They have a good serve, but we raised our aggression and we did the same as we did in the pool match and that got us through.
“This year we are doing our very best to reach Rio and this is only the beginning. This year we are working so hard to reach the Olympics and it won’t be easy for us or any of the teams.”
The Kish Island event is the first of the 11 Open tournaments to be staged by the FIVB in 2016, following on from Open events in Puerto Vallarta, Antalya and Doha in October and November last year, which heralded the start of the 2015-16 season. Qatar will host a third Open event in Doha from April 4 to 8.