Keystone-SDA | Sunday, August 25, 2024
Tanja Hüberli (left) and Nina Brunner can look forward to their next great success
Source: KEYSTONE/AP/Louise Delmotte
Tanja Hüberli (left) and Nina Brunner can look forward to their next great success
Source: KEYSTONE/AP/Louise Delmotte
Tanja Hüberli (left) and Nina Brunner can look forward to reaching the final in Hamburg
Source: KEYSTONE/AP/Louise Delmotte
Tanja Hüberli and Nina Brunner win the Elite16 tournament in Hamburg. The Olympic bronze medalists beat the German European champions Svenja Müller/Cinja Tillmann 21:18, 18:21, 18:16 in the final.
Hüberli/Brunner showed great nerves of steel on the final day in the northern German port city. Against Müller/Tillmann they fended off a match point each in the third set at 13:14 and 14:15, before converting their second to make it 18:16. At 14:15 Hüberli shone with a block. “That gave me a lot of confidence. After that point I didn’t think much anymore,” she said. The result was strong attacking shots that led to victory.
The semi-final between Hüberli/Brunner was already a thriller. The duo defeated Valentina Gottardi/Marta Menegatti 21:15, 17:21, 21:19. It was only the seventh match point for the 31-year-old from Schwyz and the 28-year-old from Zug that brought the decision. Hüberli/Brunner had already met the Italians in the group phase. In this, they also narrowly won – 16:14 in the third set.
The triumph in Hamburg was the Swiss women’s second title at the highest tournament level. They celebrated their first in April in Tepic, Mexico. But they also failed three times in an Elite16 final, including in Hamburg in 2022. Now it worked out in the far north.
“The victory in Tepic was extremely important, it feels like we needed it,” said Brunner. “We waited a long time for it and had to fight hard for it. Since then we have the feeling that we have more stability and confidence in close matches.” That was evident in Hamburg. Müller/Tillmann had previously won twelve times in a row.
