Šépka and Semerád first defeated the Ukrainian pair of Serhij Popov and Eduard Reznik 21:19, 21:13 and then the Swiss team of Yves Haussener and Quentin Metral 21:15 and 21:10. They will have at least three matches against the world‘s elite, and in the group they will also challenge world number one Norway Anders Mol and Christian Sörum.
Hermannová and Štochlová initially defeated Slovenia’s Tjaša Kotniková and Tajda Lovšinová in a tie-break. In the match for promotion to the main competition, however, the Czech No. 1s were not enough for the Germans Svenja Müllerová and Cinja Tillmannová (12:21, 14:21). In both sets, they soon took a loss, which they could not recover due to a number of unforced errors in service and attack.
Pro Tour Elite category tournament in beach volleyball in Gstaad (Switzerland) – qualification: Men: 1. round: ŠÉPKA, SEMERÁD (CZ) – Popov, Reznik (Ukraine) 2:0 (19, 13), 2. round: ŠÉPKA, SEMERÁD (CZ) – Métral, Haussener (Switzerland) 2:0 (15, 10). Women: 1. round: HERMANNOVA, ŠTOCHLOVÁ (CZE) – Kotniková, Lovšinová (Slovenia) 2:1 (18, -16, 10), 2. round: HERMANNOVA, ŠTOCHLOVÁ (ČR) – Hermannová, Štochlová 2:0 (12, 14).