Canada's Pavan, Humana-Paredes advance to quarter-finals at Ostrava Beach Open
CBC Sports | Posted: June 4, 2021 9:04 PM | Last Updated: June 4, 2021
Fellow Canadians Heather Bansley, Brandie Wilkerson suffer loss to Brazilian pair
After winning each of their two Friday matches in straight sets, Canadians Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes are advancing to the quarter-finals of the Ostrava Beach Open.
Pavan of Kitchener, Ont., and Humana-Paredes of Toronto, defeated Miki Ishii and Megumi Murakimi of Japan in their first match of the day with a score of 2-0 (21-14, 21-13).
The reigning world champions later took on Brazil's Taiana Lima and Talita Da Rocha Antunes and emerged victorious with a 2-0 win (21-13, 21-14.)
Pavan and Humana-Paredes took a commanding lead in the first set, trumping Brazil 21-13.
But despite a strong showing by Lima and Da Rocha Antunes at the start of the second second set, the Canadians pulled away.
WATCH | Will Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan make Canadian Olympic history?
The pair will next face Netherlands duo Katja Stam and Raïsa Schoon for the second time this tournament. The pair met on Thursday, with Canada notching a 2-1 win (21-17,19-21,15-12.)
Other matches
Stam and Schoon had ousted Canada's Megan and Nicole McNamara on Friday in a 2-0 effort (18-21, 15-21.) The latter duo finished in 17th place.
Canadians Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson also suffered a tough loss to Brazil's Carolina Solberg Salgado and Barbara Seixas de Freitas to finish 9th.
The pair won their first set against Brazil (21-14), who would go on to take the second (21-18). A tight third set saw the Brazilians come out on top (17-15.)
On the men's side, Canadians Grant O'Gorman and Ben Saxton also fell to Netherlands' Steven van de Velde and Christiaan Varenhost in a 2-1 match (17-21, 26-24, 11-15). They placed 17th.