Marcio Araujo / Benjamin Insfran Brazil (2) def. Stephane Canet / Mathieu Hamel France (23) 21-13, 21-14 (0:43)

·           Brazil's Benjamin INSFRAM and Marcio ARAUJO, the number two seeds of the Men's Olympic Beach Volleyball Tournament, sailed past France's Stephane CANET and Mathieu HAMEL 2-0 (21-13, 21-14) in 43 minutes, to climb to the top of Pool B.  It was the first step in what is widely believed will be a road to the podium for the Brazilans.  The French got a slight early lead in the first set, but Brazil took the lead for the first time at 8-7 and never looked back. Far superior in their attacking efficiency, BENJAMIN / MARCIO ARAUJO completely dominated the second set, much to the delight of their numerous fans.

Christoph Dieckmann / Andreas Scheuerpflug Germany (11) def. Juan Rosell / Francisco Alvarez Cuba (14) 21-19, 19-21, 15-10 (1:04)

·           Germany's Christoph DIECKMANN and Andreas SCHEUERPFLUG suruvived an attempted comeback by Cuba's Francisco ALVAREZ / Juan ROSELL, to win their opening match 2-1 (21-19, 19-21, 15-10) in Pool B of the Men's Olympic Beach Volleyball Tournament.  The Cubans were in the lead throughout most of the first set, but the Germans caught up at 15-15 and capitalized on two kills and one stuff by DIECKMANN to break away from 16-16 to 19-16. That gave the Germans enough of an edge to come away with the first set.  Despite trailing for a good part of the second set, Ch. DIECKMANN / SCHEUERPFLUG overtook ALVAREZ / ROSELL to take the lead at 19-18. But a kill and a stuff by ROSELL and an attack on the net by DIECKMANN allowed the Cubans to tie the overall score and force the match into a tie-break.  The Cubans led again, early in the third set, but once more the Germans came back to tie at 5-5 and gradually widen their lead to the final 15-10.  The two teams were pretty much equal on serving, attacking and digging efficiency, but the Germans outblocked the Cubans five stuffs to one.

Marcio Araujo / Benjamin Insfran Brazil (2) vs. Juan Rosell / Francisco Alvarez Cuba (14)

Christoph Dieckmann / Andreas Scheuerpflug Germany (11) vs. Stephane Canet / Mathieu Hamel France (23)

Francisco Alvarez / Juan Rosell Cuba (14) vs. Stephane Canet / Mathieu Hamel France (23)

Marcio Araujo / Benjamin Insfran Brazil (2) vs. Christoph Dieckmann / Andreas Scheuerpflug Germany (11)