A huge surprise, branded Mutina Beach and with Modena colours. Although surprise cannot be fully defined, given that Davis Krumins and Marco Caminati had won together, on their debut, the ‘Futures’ in Madrid just a month ago, arriving from the qualifiers directly on the top step of the podium. The sporting scalp they won yesterday at the Assoluti being held in Caorle, however, is one that gets people talking: Krumins and Caminati, in fact, had been paired in the first round with the newly formed pair of Daniele Lupo and Ivan Zaytsev, with the former captain of Modena Volley and the national team who has embarked on a beach career a few weeks ago with a view to the next Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Yesterday was the absolute debut for Lupo-Zaytsev and in the end they were unlucky, in having met a new but already tried and tested and very close-knit couple like the one made up of Krumins and Caminati, victorious at the end of a spectacular marathon with a comeback score of 2-1 (17-21 21-17 23-21). A victory that then galvanized the Mutina Beach champions, after what was without question the most awaited match of the day, with all the media’s attention focused on what could potentially be another winning pair of Italian beach volleyball. Krumins-Caminati, after the prestigious victory, engaged in another hard-fought match: the two, after the first round, then beat the other couple from Modena, the one made up of Matteo Bertoli and Matteo Lancellotti, with a score of 2-0 (23-21 21-19). At 6pm then the match that was worth access to the semi-final against Viscovich and Dal Corso, the first stumble in the path of the couple from Modena who lost another very long battle with a score of 1-2 (21-19 16-21 11-15) . Nothing compromised however, given that already this morning Krumins and Caminati will be back on the field in the losers’ bracket to try to reach the noblest parts of the rankings. Bertoli and Lancellotti, also competing today, also moved up the losing table. Finally, the other couple from Modena, Bigarelli and Reggiani, were unable to enter the main draw, but they were knocked out in the qualifiers.
Alessandro Trebbi
