Their surprise triumph came on a day where Olympic gold medallists Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst of Germany set up a meeting with American pair April Ross and Lauren Fendrick in the final of the women's tournament.

The two teams are due to clash for the gold medal tomorrow.

It was the performance of Saxton and Schalk, however, which caught the eye as they progressed to the last eight by dispatching the formidable Brazilian pairing of Cerutti and Schmidt.

The Canadians ensured they ended the Brazilians' pursuit of successive world titles with a battling 21-19, 19-21, 15-13 victory.

They will take on another Brazilian duo, Andre Loyola Stein and Evandro Junior, in the quarter-finals after they overcame Latvia's Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins 24-22, 21-19.

"This is our second time in the quarters at the worlds and we’ve just beaten the reigning Olympic and world champions so I’d say that’s up there with the best result of my career," said Saxton.

Ludwig and Walkenhorst moved a step closer to adding the world crown to their growing medal collection as they beat Brazil's Talita Antunes and Larissa França 21-19, 21-16.

Fendrick and Ross progressed to the showpiece contest in the women's competition as they ousted Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes of Canada 21-19, 16-21, 15-11.

Antunes and França will go up against the Canadian duo for the bronze medal.

"I didn’t expect to be so good," said Ludwig.

"It was tough but we practiced hard for the last four years so we didn’t lose our beach volleyball, we just had to find it and feel it and get back our confidence. 

"That’s what we did.

"It’s unbelievable. 

"I still can’t believe we’ve made the final."