A home team, an unknown pair from Rwanda and a duo of Spanish veterans weren’t enough to put a stop at Ana Patricia Ramos and Rebecca Cavalcanti’s good form as the Brazilians took the first place of their pool at their first World Championships.
The 26-year-old Rebecca and 21-year-old Ana Patricia clinched the top spot of Pool D after they defeated Spaniards Liliana Fernandez and Elsa Baquerizo 21-18, 21-15 on Monday.
“That was always the plan,” Rebecca said afterwards. “I think we both served well and used the wind to our advantage and that was the difference. Mentally it was a weird game because we got really close to the Spanish after they spent some time training with us in Fortaleza earlier this year and we like to make fun of each other, but we managed to remain focused in the game.”
The Brazilians are both making their debuts at the World Championships and are already part of the group of contenders for the gold medal. They confirmed their recent good form with three pool play triumphs, but one thing they certainly are not looking for is adding unnecessary pressure to their routines.
“Now we need to wait for the draw and see what our bracket will look like, but ultimately all we need is to focus on our side,” Ana added. “Being favorites or not is something we leave for the others to tell. To be honest, we didn’t even think we’d be able to qualify and be here this year, so for it’s all about enjoying it and learning from it.”
The pool was concluded with Germany’s Victoria Bieneck and Isabel Schneider downing Rwanda’s Judith Hakizimana and Charlotte Nzayisenga 21-12, 21-4 at the Red Bull Beach Arena to get their first victory in front of their home fans.
The home team secured the third place in the pool, behind the Spanish, who are also guaranteed in the elimination round, and will now to wait the conclusion of the other pools to know if they advance automatically or if they will need to go through the lucky losers round. The African pair are out of the tournament after three defeats.
