Beach volleyball: Internationals outmanoeuvre NZ pairs in finals

Zhou Shun, from China, warms up before the Final of the McEntee Hire NZ Open Beach Volleyball tournament. Photo / Brett Phibbs

New Zealand men's and women's pairs were felled at the final hurdle by classy internationals at the New Zealand Open beach volleyball championships in Auckland yesterday.

The ability of the German women and Chinese men shone through to deny Anna Scarlett and Susan Blundell, and Michael Watson and Ben O'Dea respectively.

Scarlett and Blundell went down 21-14 21-19 to world No 4-ranked Germans Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig.

The hosts struggled through the first set, but improved notably in the second, with the feature being some excellent serving and blocking from Blundell. The New Zealanders won their way to the final via an outstanding 21-15 21-17 semifinal upset defeat of the world's fifth-ranked side - Angie Akers and Tyra Turner from the United States.

In the other semifinals, Goller and Ludwig were equally comprehensive winners over the accomplished Chinese pair Tian Jia and Wang Feiing, who won the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics.

The powerful Chinese men's pairing of Zhou Shun and Liu Wei controlled proceedings in the men's final, winning 21-18 21-17 over tour surprise packages Watson, 20, and O'Dea, 17.

Former Asian champion Shun was dominant at the net, while Wei produced many telling left-handed cut-and-roll shots.

In their semifinal, Watson and O'Dea triumphed 21-18 21-18 over fellow Kiwis Brendon Heath and Edwin O'Dea, Ben's brother.

The Chinese pair beat Australians Aaron Crook and Adam Blackburn 21-17 21-18.

- NZPA