Fourth seeds Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan landed too many hard punches against Belgians Dries Koekelkoren and Tom van Walle before surging to the top of Pool D of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, presented by comdirect and ALDI Nord in Hamburg on Monday, with a straight-set victory.

The 21-15, 21-15 victory in 31 minutes was third for Younousse and Tijan and took the Qatari stars directly into the second phase – Round of 32.

While the 21st seeds Belgians bowed out, Italians Adrian Carambula and Enrico Rossi (No. 45th) and Czechs Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner, (No. 28th), also advanced to the next stage.

Before the first knock-out matches, involving the top two pairs from each pool, four best placed among the third highest placed teams will join them and the remaining eight will get into a battle of lucky losers, with four winners joining the 28-player elimination round.

This was the second meeting between the Qataris and the Czechs on the Tour. The latter had won the previous encounter during the Gstaad Major group stage last year in three sets. Younousse and Tijan tied the career record 1-1 after their emphatic victory.

After the match, a delighted Younousse commented: “Yeah, the first two matches turned out to be tough games. I had a slight concussion in the first match, after getting a blow in the head during the transition. I was not able to do my 100 percent but we came back and won the next two to finish on the top of the pool.

“It was not easy to do so but it feels good to top the pool,” he added.

In the opening set, Younousse and Tijan took off early and a 5-2 push inspired them to dominate the rivals. They increased it to 12-6 at one stage and then controlled the flow to finish it at 21-15.

The second set was a bit different in the early parts. The Czechs displayed their determination and the two teams rubbed the shoulders to shoulders till 11 each. A remarkable turn-around and pick-up by Younousse was finished by Tijan brilliantly and they shot later 14-11 ahead. Soon the advantage grew to 18-14.

At 15-19, a serve went into the net to hand the Qataris the match point. Ahmed anticipated superbly and defended by going behind Younousse, who later lifted the ball for his teammate to hammer the winner into the middle of the court, with the rivals hoping the spike on the sidelines.

“Now the serious business starts,” Younousse added. “Last time in Vienna also, we had topped the group. The pool was strong here as well but our experience helped us win the match rather easily. We know how to handle the knockout stage but we would certainly need more intensity and higher levels to clear the hurdles.

“We’re ready to fight during the next stage and will try to put up our best,” said Younousse.

After a rest day on Tuesday, the main round action will get under way on Wednesday.

Results (Pool D)
Round 1
Cherif Samba / Ahmed Tijan Qatar (4) def. Adrian Carambula / Enrico Rossi Italy (45) 19-21, 21-14, 18-16 (0:56)
Ondrej Perusic / David Schweiner Czech Republic (28) def. Dries Koekelkoren / Tom van Walle Belgium (21) 21-18, 21-11 (0:21)

Round 2
Cherif Samba / Ahmed Tijan Qatar (4) def. Ondrej Perusic / David Schweiner Czech Republic (28) 18-21, 21-13, 18-16 (0:56)
Adrian Carambula / Enrico Rossi Italy (45) def. Dries Koekelkoren / Tom van Walle Belgium (21) 20-22, 21-18, 15-10 (0:51)

Round 3
Cherif Samba / Ahmed Tijan Qatar (4) def. Dries Koekelkoren / Tom van Walle Belgium (21) 21-15, 21-15 (0:31)
Adrian Carambula / Enrico Rossi Italy (45) def. Ondrej Perusic / David Schweiner Czech Republic (28) 21-18, 22-20 (0:43)

Tuesday’s fixtures
Pool E
Round 3
Ilya Leshukov / Konstantin Semenov Russia (5) vs. Alison Cerutti / Alvaro Filho Brazil (20)
Billy Allen / Stafford Slick United States (29) vs. Tamer Abdelrasoul / Assam Mahmoud Qatar (44)