Qatar’s rising stars Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan came within two points of shocking former world champions and getting into the semi-finals of the Swatch Major Gstaad Five-Star on Friday.

The Qatari 14th seeds, after seeing off the challenge of qualifiers Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs of Latvia, were pitted against Brazilian stars sixth seeds Evandro Goncalves and Bruno Oscar Schmidt in the third eliminator. Despite winning the opening set, they could not forced their way and lost 22-20, 21-23, 10-15 in 52 minutes.

It was the first clash between the two pairs. Younousse and Tijan, 17th in the event last year, were unfazed by the tall stature of their opponents – Goncalves was the world champion in 2017 with André Stein, while Schmidt bagged the world title in 2015 with Alison Cerutti and the pair also emerged the champions in the Rio Olympics next year.

Both Goncalves and Schmidt have been the champions in this Swiss major with different partners as well.

However, both Younousse and Tijan called shots and won the opening set in 17 minutes. Later, the Brazilians exerted pressure on the young opponents from Qatar, who continued to resist spiritedly. Once they had two set points (20-18) but Younousse and Tijan equalised. They were level at 21 as well but here the Qatari team cracked under pressure and lost the set.

In the decider, the Brazilians forged 8-4 ahead, using their vast experience of high-level beach volleyball. Younousse and Tijan attempted their best but the gap was far too wide to cover up, especially when the rivals are Goncalves and Schmidt. The sixth seeds closed out the match, lasting over 50 minutes

Earlier, Younousse and Tijan sent Latvian qualifiers Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs packing. Both the sets were well-contested and it was the Qatari duo who held their nerves and came through the tough second eliminator by 26-24, 21-19 in 38 minutes.

This was the second victory for Younousse and Tijan in three clashes against the Latvians. With this triumph, they also avenged the three-set loss to Plavins and Tocs in the first knockout match in the same tournament last year. The first clash between them was also a tough one with the Qataris grabbing the 24-22, 24-22 win in the Poland Four-Star last year.

Both Younousse and Tijan collected valuable 720 points and shared $12,000 prize money.

النتائج
Round 2
Anders Mol / Christian Sorum Norway (1) def. Taylor Crabb / Jake Gibb United States (13) 15-21, 21-11, 15-8 (0:44)
Saymon Barbosa / Gustavo “Guto” Carvalhaes Brazil (26, Q6) def. Mirco Gerson / Adrian Heidrich Switzerland (8) 19-21, 21-15, 15-13 (0:50)
Evandro Goncalves / Bruno Oscar Schmidt Brazil (6) def. Nikita Liamin / Taras Myskiv Russia (16, Q1) 21-12, 21-12 (0:40)
Cherif Samba / Ahmed Tijan Qatar (14) def. Martins Plavins / Edgars Tocs Latvia (20, Q2) 26-24, 21-19 (0:38)
Alexander Brouwer / Robert Meeuwsen Netherlands (21) def. Phil Dalhausser / Nick Lucena United States (4) 21-16, 21-14 (0:32)
Ondrej Perusic / David Schweiner Czech Republic (17) def. Sam Pedlow / Sam Schachter Canada (23) 24-26, 21-16, 18-16 (0:58)
Piotr Kantor / Bartosz Losiak Poland (18) def. Grzegorz Fijalek / Michal Bryl Poland (5) 21-14, 15-21, 15-10 (0:46)
Daniele Lupo / Paolo Nicolai Italy (12) def. Alison Cerutti / Alvaro Filho Brazil (15) 21-16, 21-14 (0:34)

Round 3
Anders Mol / Christian Sorum Norway (1) def. Saymon Barbosa / Gustavo “Guto” Carvalhaes Brazil (26, Q6) 21-14, 21-17 (0:44)
Evandro Goncalves / Bruno Oscar Schmidt Brazil (6) def. Cherif Samba / Ahmed Tijan Qatar (14) 20-22, 23-21, 15-10 (0:52)
Alexander Brouwer / Robert Meeuwsen Netherlands (21) def. Ondrej Perusic / David Schweiner Czech Republic (17) 21-14, 23-25, 22-20 (0:54)
Daniele Lupo / Paolo Nicolai Italy (12) def. Piotr Kantor / Bartosz Losiak Poland (18) 22-20, 21-18 (0:36)

Saturday’s fixtures (semi-finals)
Anders Mol / Christian Sorum Norway (1) vs. Evandro Goncalves / Bruno Oscar Schmidt Brazil (6)
Alexander Brouwer / Robert Meeuwsen Netherlands (21) vs. Daniele Lupo / Paolo Nicolai Italy (12)