2017-08-27 11:14:00 CEST
Beast blocks his way to the final
Americans complete another comeback
Dalhausser came up with five crucial first-set blocks against Kantor/Losiak
Phil Dalhausser was it his blocking best as he and Nick Lucena made a Hamburg final for the second successive year with a win over Poland’s Bartosz Losiak and Piotr Kantor.
The 2008 Olympic champ came up with five crucial blocks in the first set as the Americans battled back from four points behind to take the important first set and after that they never looked back, securing a 21-19, 21-15 win.
Dalhausser and Lucena won World Tour Finals silver in 2015 but did win gold at the Hamburg Major here last season.
And after a slow start against the Poles, the pair found their rhythm to register yet another win over Kantor/Losiak – a team they beat in the Gstaad Major final last month.
“They’re a tough team and we’re really happy to be in the final,” said Nick. “Phil blocked some balls and I got a few aces. Our sideout was steady and we’re excited to be in another final.”
Phil added: “I came out after a slow start in the first set and they got a good lead. But we chipped away and put them into some tricky situations.
“We did get a bit lucky – we had a couple of tape serves – but I hope we can play to that level of the second set in the final.”
Remember the final takes place at 3pm CET and you can watch it live on BeachStream! Click here to sign-up.
