Meet the teams
Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Janis Smedins - Latvia (11)
Team: 9th (2013), 9th (2017)
Samoilovs: 37th (2007), 9th (2009), 17th (2011), 9th (2013), 17th (2015), 9th (2017)
Smedins: 4th (2011), 9th (2013), 9th (2017)
Sam Pedlow/Sam Schachter – Canada (17)
Team: 9th (2017)
Pedlow: 9th (2017)
Schachter: 9th (2015), 9th (2017)
Adrian Heidrich/Mirco Gerson – Switzerland (27)
Team: Debut
Heidrich: Debut
Gerson: 9th (2015)
Ignacio Zavalla/Gaspar Lammel – Chile (44)
Team: Debut
Zavalla: Debut
Lammel: Debut
The lowdown
Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins are the safest bet to top the pool, but the Latvians haven’t been at their best form lately and could easily be challenged by the Sams, Pedlow and Schachter, who have been a consistent team on the World Tour lately. Adrian Heidrich’s physicality at the net and Mirco Gerson’s savviness in defense could make of the Swiss tough opponents for both Latvians and Canadians, however. Ignacio Zavalla and Gaspar Lammel are being prepared to succeed the Grimalt cousins Marco and Esteban in Chile and have a massive opportunity in front of them to make a good first step in the international scene.
Game to watch
It’s always a battle when Latvians and Canadians cross paths in the World Tour. The teams have met three times since 2017 and each of these matches went to three sets, with the Canadians winning two of them. Get ready for another close one in Hamburg, especially if the top spot of the pool is in play. Wednesday, July 3, at 11am CET. Court 2.
Did you know?
Adrian Heidrich is part of one of the four sets of siblings set to compete at the World Championships as her sister Joana pairs with Anouk Vergé-Dépré in the women’s tournament. The others are Brazilians Pedro and Carol Salgado, Americans Taylor and Trevor Crabb and the Canadian twins Megan and Nicole McNamara. His partner, Mirco, also has a sister who plays in the World Tour, Dunja, but she didn’t qualify for Hamburg.
