Germany's Bockermann, Fluggen crowned in beach volleyball Fuzhou Open

Markus Bockermann/Lars Fluggen from Germany defeated former world champions Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen from the Netherlands to win gold at the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball Fuzhou Open.

In the final, Bockermann/Fluggen displayed the same gritty determination that has been seen throughout the Fuzhou Open to win gold, beating Brouwer/Meeuwsen 2-0 (21-19, 21-19). Bronze medal went to Youssef Krou/Edouard Rowlandson from France in a turnaround match against American Todd Rogers/Stafford Slick 2-1 (19-21, 21-17, 15-9).

The men's final was a great spectator match for the crowds at Mianjiang Riverside Park under overcast skies. Both teams began by feeling their way into the match with Bockermann/Fluggen taking an early lead. Brouwer/Meeuwsen quickly adapted to their opponents and closed the gap to make it 15-15.

Bockermann/Fluggen continued to switch up their returns making it difficult for the Dutch pair to predict as the first set went to Germany. The Netherlands never stopped putting on the pressure and it was not going to be an easy victory for Bockermann/Fluggen.

A spectacular German point secured the gold with a massive hit from Fluggen followed by a final tip over the net from Bockermann.

"I can't finds words. It's so awesome. Great victory against the world champions. Our first tournament victory, so you can imagine how we feel," said Bockermann.

"It was a very close match, I think. It could have been the other way round and the Netherlands won this. There was always a lot of pressure. Finally, we had a little bit more luck, I think," said Fluggen.

In their first tournament as a team, it is also Bockermann's first FIVB medal.

"We get a lot of points for the win, I think and it's really important for us. A lot of German teams want to play. This is the best result we could do," said Fluggen.

The bronze medal match pitted Frenchmen Krou/Rowlandson against Rogers/Slick. The US team had the upper hand in the first set with flashes of excellence from Slick and outstanding digs as always from Rogers who supported his partner at every moment.

By midway through the second set, Krou/Rowlandson were providing more of a challenge for the US pair and some powerful accurate serving from Rowlandson led the match into the tie break. The third set was a thriller with both teams diving around the four corners of the court. A last Krou tip over the net and the bronze belonged to France 2-1 (19-21, 21-17, 15-9).

"We're really, really happy. We absolutely don't know how we came back from the groups because we lost the first two games of the competition and were really down at this point and didn't know why we weren't playing our game. So finishing with a bronze medal is like coming out from nowhere," said Rowlandson.

"This medal means the main draw starts and the beginning of the Grand Slam season and moreover it gives us confidence for the rest of the season and the work we made during the preparation," said Krou.

In its third consecutive year, the Fuzhou Open is the first double-gender event of the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar with a prize purse of 150,000 U.S. dollars.

The women's medal matches will be held on Sunday.
Source: XINHUA