Five fabulous hours in store inside the Rothenbaum

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It’s a big day for Ilka Semmler and partner Katrin Holtwick on Center Court! Photocredit: Michael Kunkel.

Set an alarm and clear your diary from 2pm onwards on Thursday! The glitz and glamour of the smart Major Hamburg is going up a notch!

Why? Because the Center Court is going to be the place to be as the Rothenbaum Stadium makes its much-anticipated debut with six sensational matches guaranteed to get the blood pumping.

First up at 2pm are German qualifiers Schümann/Thole, who never thought they would be in a position to dig and dive on the sand on Center Court after their dramatic qualification on Tuesday. They take on imposing Polish pair Fijalek/Prudel.

A meeting of two giants in the game come next as Austria’s Doppler/Horst tackle in-form Italians Lupo/Nicolai. Nicolai still won’t be celebrating his birthday.

What follows then is a feast of beach volleyball action for the German fans, as four back-to-back matches feature teams from the host nation. To say the first two games are important would be an understatement. They are massive for one reason and two words: Olympic qualification!

The two women’s sides battling for the final German spot in Rio are on court as Holtwick/Semmler take to the court at 4pm before Borger/Büthe bound on to the court an hour later.

Once all of that drama is done and dusted the action keeps coming: top German men team Böckermann/Flüggen face number one seeds Alison/Bruno of Brazil.

And if that wasn’t enough (don’t get greedy now!) the German’s best women’s team Ludwig/Walkenhorst do battle with Spain’s Liliana/Elsa.

Seriously, what a line-up! Three cheers for the event organizers – I wonder who they are….!

So, see you at 2pm, yeah?

Click here for the full schedule!

Italy are sure to have their fans on Center Court at 3pm when Nicolai/Lupo take to the sand. Photocredit: Daniel Grund.