Marseille, France, July 20, 2003 - Brazil's Ricardo Alex Costa and Emanuel Rego secured their second consecutive gold medal on the 2003 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour when they won a thrilling 21-18, 20-22, 15-13 encounter against Swiss brothers Martin and Paul Laciga in the final of the $300,000 Marseille Grand Slam on Sunday.
The Lacigas saved one match point in the second set and a further two in the tiebreak, and despite opening a 9-6 lead in the deciding set in front of a packed stadium in Marseille they were unable to prevent their in-form rivals from collecting another title to go with the one they won in Norway two weeks ago.
For defending champion Ricardo it was his fourth victory in Marseille, while his partner Emanuel, voted the Speedo Most Valuable Player of the tournament, has now won this event on three occasions.
Third place went to American Olympic champion Dain Blanton and Jeff Nygaard, who fought back from a set down to defeat Germany Christoph Dieckmann and Andy Scheuerpflug 19-21, 21-15, 15-8 earlier on Sunday. The Americans now have a bronze medal to go with the gold they won at the season-opening Rhodes Open last month.
"That was a very tough final, as usual," said Emanuel. "We were down in the tiebreak and so we decided to take a time out - at 8-5 down I think - and we spoke about playing better as a team. I felt we were separating and not playing together enough. Our power is when we play together and after the tiebreak I felt that we began to click again as a team."
The Lacigas, renowned as wind specialists, were many people's favourites to win the title this week and after saving match point in the second set and forging ahead in the tiebreak, they looked destined to secure their first gold medal of the 2003 World Tour. Despite the loss, it was their first podium finish of the season after taking fifth place in the four previous events.
"Their game suits the wind with their quick and low sets," added 30-year-old Emanuel, who now has an impressive 38 World Tour titles to his name. "The wind was very difficult at times, it was turning around and I think both teams showed very good technical control. It was another great game, similar to when I won here against them in the 1999 World Championships with my former partner Loiola.
"This win has helped us to move further towards achieving our goals. Our main aim is to secure a place in the Olympics in Athens - that's our number one goal. The second is to finish top of the World Tour rankings."
Ricardo, a blocking machine who now has 18 World Tour gold medals, and Emanuel have been together for less than a year, but their combination of power at the net and backcourt speed has seen them quickly develop into the form duo on the World Tour. The victory lifts them into first place on the rankings, a position they could dominate for some time if they continue to develop their partnership at the same speed.
"We're still a new team," added Emanuel. "We're still learning together and I think we can get much better still."
Ricardo also won the SWATCH Fastest Service Award with a time of 92.6 km/h. "The wind doesn't bother me and I feel very comfortable here in Marseille," added the quietly spoken Brazilian.
The men's 2003 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour moves on to Espinho next week for the Portugal Open. |
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