Gstaad, Switzerland, July 6, 2016 - After making the Main Draw at the Gstaad Major, Germany’s Chantal Laboureur and Julia Sude now want to repeat their feat of the Porec Major and complete a perfect back-to-back victory at the third stop of the SWATCH Major Series.
It was a huge upset. From the qualifiers right onto the throne. A total “novum” in the SWATCH Major Series. No team had ever been able to complete such a sensation. Laboureur and Sude, however, did it at the Porec Major last week - and made history.
Sude still can’t believe that they claimed their very first gold medal at a SWATCH Major Series stop: “To be honest, I think we still haven’t realized what happened at the Porec Major last week. It was an incredible tournament. We didn’t believe that we could make this dream of gold true. When I called my boyfriend on Friday telling him that we made the semis, he spontaneously decided to come to Porec and support us.”
After their huge exploit at the second stop of the SWATCH Major Series, however, the Germans had no time to rest on their laurels. “Actually, we planned to make a stop at home and get some new clothes, but as we played the gold medal game at the Porec Major on Sunday and already had to fight for a berth in the Gstaad Major Main Draw on Tuesday, we had to travel directly to Switzerland.”
But this was no problem, since Sude and Laboureur could count on the special support of their families: “We live close to the Swiss border and the Gstaad Major actually feels like a home tournament to us. Our families told us before the tournament that they wanted come to watch our games live and promised us to bring us some stuff and cloths from home.” Sude feels grateful that her family and friends come to support her at the Gstaad Major: “It’s not only the support during the games, it’s more. My family always helps me out when they come to tourneys. They help me organise during the tournament and help me to focus on the game. It’s just amazing to know that they back me.”
Now with the special help of their families, Sude and Laboureur are poised to repeat their feat of the Porec Major at the Gstaad Major. The Germans even made the huge step in the right direction by making the Main Draw yesterday. But Laboureur admits that it was not easy to keep focused after the big win in Croatia: “We had no time to rest after the victory at Porec and it’s not easy to start from scratch once again at the Gstaad Major. On the one hand, you are still happy about the big victory at the previous tournament, on the other, you know that already your first two games are do-or-die matchups.”
Nevertheless, Laboureur and Sude did not choke and handled the pressure in the women’s qualifiers. Now the Germans are once again on the hunt for the gold medal. Laboureur knows that in the Main Draw of the US$800,000 Gstaad Major, everything is possible: “The best Beach Volleyball teams in the world rub shoulders in the SWATCH Major Series. The games are always very close and the rallies long. That’s why you need to prove a long wind – what’s not always easy here in Gstaad because of the height - and just play your best Beach Volleyball.”
And Laboureur should be right with her statement. Laboureur and Sude’s first pool game of the day versus compatriots Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst was a very close matchup - but not with the better end for the winners of the Porec Major as they eventually had to accept a tight 1:2 (21-15, 24-26, 9-15) loss. Therefore, the second pool play versus Sophie van Gestel Jantine van der Vlist of the Netherlands at 4 p.m. (local time) is going to be very crucial for the two Germans.