Filho claims revenge as Dutch defending champions bow out of home Beach Volleyball World Championships

Brazil’s Alvaro Filho and Vitor Felipe overcame defending champions Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwse ©FIVB

Brazil’s Alvaro Filho claimed revenge over defending men's champions and home favourites Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwse in the last 32 of the Beach Volleyball World Championship in The Netherlands, two years on from suffering defeat at their hands in the final.

Then Filho had been competing with Ricardo Santos, but his new partnership with another Brazilian, Vitor Felipe, could help him progress a step further than the 2013 Championship in Poland, producing a superb display to dethrone Brouwer and Meeuwse.

They claimed the first set of the match in Rotterdam 21-19, before fending off the Dutch pairs three set points in the second to claim a match point of their own and eventually complete a 21-19, 25-23 win over the defending champions.

"I think the people of The Netherlands can still be proud of them, cause they are a tough team and I respect them a lot”, Alvaro said.

“I laughed when I saw the draw.

“Sometimes destiny is great”

Canada's Heather Bansley and Sarah Pavan advanced to the last 16 of the women's competition at the Beach Volleyball World Championships in The Netherlands ©Getty Images

The Netherlands had started the last 32 stage of the men’s competition with three teams, but now have only one to support in the last 16 as Michiel van Dorsten and Steven van de Velde also lost in straight sets 21-19, 24-22 to Mexico’s Lombardo Ontiveros and Juan Virgen.

It leaves Reinder Nummerdor and Christiaan Varenhorst as the lone surviving Dutch pair after they claimed a 21-19, 21-10 win over Russia’s Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Artem Yarzutkin in their tie at The Hague.

The surprise packages of the tournament, Cuba’s Nivaldo Diaz and Sergio Gonzalez, continued their superb run at the tournament after they won in straight sets 21-19, 22-20 against Spain’s Pablo Herrera and Adrian Gavira in Rotterdam.

Germany’s Karla Borger and Britta Buthe, the 2013 silver medallists, fell to a shock defeat in the women’s draw, suffering a three set defeat to Canada’s Heather Bansley and Sarah Pavan in Amsterdam.

The Canadians secured the opening set 21-13 and, despite losing the second 21-19, they were able to regroup and complete the victory by taking the decider 15-13.

They are now set to face Kazakhstan’s Tatyana Mashkova and Irina Tsimbalova in tomorrow’s last 16 match after they also defeated German opposition in their opening knock-out match, prevailing 21-18, 21-14 over Julia Sude and Chantal Labouruer.