Saxton/Schalk are back!

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Saxton/Schalk all smiles after their first win of the Hamburg Finals

Watch out Hamburg, wildcards Ben Saxton and Chaim Schalk have found their rhythm and are in the quarterfinals – and now they’re setting their sights on a medal.

The Canadian pair lost both of their pool play matches on day one of the tournament but were far too good for World Championship bronze medalists Nikita Liamin and Viacheslav Krasilnikov.

And after finishing in fourth place on home sand 12 months ago at the Toronto Finals, the pair are now looking to go one better here in Germany.

“It was really smooth and we’re getting better with every game,” Schalk said after their 21-15, 21-15 triumph. “We found our side-out rhythm and if we can continue that we will be hard to stop and we could go on and do some really good things.

“We’d love to be on the podium but we have a tough match first and then if you win that you’re in the semis and then you have a great chance of doing that.”

Ben, who tormented the Russians at the net with six blocks in the win, added: “We just needed to warm up a little so we’re good to go. We want to show everyone that we deserve a wildcard and we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”

The pair now face American rivals Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser in Saturday’s quarterfinals – a game you can watch live on BeachStream. Click here to subscribe.

The Canadians found their form to secure a place in the quarterfinals