Esphino, Portugal, July 27, 2003 - Brazil's Ricardo Alex Costa and Emanuel Rego won their third consecutive gold medal on the 2003 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour on Sunday when the fought back from a set down to defeat Norway's Jorre Andre Kjemperud and Vegard Hoidalen in a thrilling final at the Portugal Open in Esphino.
With the valiant Norwegian pair saving four match points, as well as having a match point of their own, the World Tour ranking leaders had to be at their very best and dig deep into their reserves of energy and experience to secure the title 21-23, 21-14, 20-18 in front of full-house in this Atlantic coastal resort.
The victory follows on from the Brazilians gold medal success at the Norway Open in Stavanger and the Marseille Grand Slam in France last week.
Third place went to Andrew Schacht and Josh Slack, the Australians posting a career-best finish as they downed Brazilians Benjamin Insfran and Marcio Henrique Araujo 21-17, 21-17 on a bright but windy afternoon on the deep Esphino sands.
"That was a very difficult game, the hardest of our wins this year," said Ricardo, who was also voted Speedo Most Valuable Player (MVP). "They had a very strong service, the wind and the soft, deep sand made it very hard to deal with. The scoring was very close and showed just how hard it was, though I felt we had the title in our hands in the third set."
Kjemperud and Hoidalen can take a modicum of consolation from the fact it was their best finish for three seasons, their last final appearance being at the 2000 Marseille Open, where they also lost to Ricardo and his then partner Ze Marco.
They can also take great heart from the way they refused to give up, saving match points when down 13-14, 14-15, 15-16 and 16-17. But they will rue the lost opportunity when they held match point at 18-17, only for Kjemperud to produce a service fault. Hoidalen received the SWATCH Fastest Service Award after being timed at 94.4 km/h.
"When you have four match points and still do not win it's a great worry when you then go match point down," added 28-year-old Ricardo, a 200 cm blocking machine. "I have got to thank the fans this week, the Portuguese really got behind us."
The win further extends the Brazilians lead at the top of the World Tour rankings and cements their standing as the form team in men's Beach. However, the gracious Ricardo said he was surprised to receive the MVP award, generously suggesting it could have gone to either of the two Australians Schacht and Slack.
"I was surprised at the MVP but very happy as well," said Ricardo. "I thought the Australians would get it. They played so well and only lost one game, the semifinal against us."
Ricardo now has 19 World Tour titles to his name, while his partner has been top of the podium no fewer than 39 times.
The World Tour moves on to Austria next week for the Klagenfurt Grand Slam, the third grand slam of the season. |
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