Plavins_Fokerots vs. Cherif_Ahmed - Semi Final Highlights _ Rio de Janeiro 2025 #BeachProTour

And the reason that they are back in action, Plavens losing that round of 12, but they had the lucky losers, means they had the best point ratio. It's so important that every point matters, and I think it's more so in this lucky loser format. So that then puts more emphasis on playing. Quick slap down the line is good. Good wrap away of Plavens. Plavens to the seam, good read from Tijon. Nobody off on the slide approach for Ahmed Tijon, and he puts it down. Option taken from Sharique. So perfect pass for Tijon leads to a good option. But perfect regardless, and they beat Brouwer and Vandervelde in that quarterfinal match yesterday in two straight sets to find themselves here. That one does catch the line. Short to the middle. Short runway for Sharique, and again, Sharique finds the sand with a little slap to the sideline. And Katara frustrating Latvia right now, just playing it around. Plavens was saying you touched it, the referee saw it, and then Sharique puts his thumb up to the referee saying, yeah, that was a good decision by you. Funny. Sharique overhead. That time right through the hand. Excellent lineup. Unfortunate there for Fokkeroth. That was an incredible reach. Such a high contact. And then also shaking as much. So dust is a touch of sidewinds coming across to Plavens. This time he gets hold of it really well. But it is Younus at the net with a wide ball, dropping in with that big right hand. Plavens trying to go with a bit more pace on that swing. Good thinking going behind Plavens right now. Adjusting, serving through the middle, trying to get a little bit of indecision. Drive to traffic into Fokkeroth's block, but Fokkeroth can't get his hand around the ball. And Younus not able to react in time. Jump serve to the middle. Younus overhead. And Younus, that one has a huge drawback for Sharique. It was a lot of pace on that rip. And a beautiful set, but a little bit of frustration from Pavins and Fokkeroth giving such a big space through that middle. Excellent slap back for Fokkeroth. Again, the hang time for Christian is almost 20 years young. Such a bright future ahead for Fokkeroth. We're excited. Inside set. Tijan down the line with that vicious spike. Line box call for Qatar. It's an overpass from Plavens. That set kind of slipped through the hands. Plavens will stay with the play. And there's going to be a crucial moment here. 18-16 now for Qatar. Mafia respond. And Plavens trying to go to that low, low baby line and does not clear the net. Must have been a net violation. We missed it. Quick turnaround here for our teams. And huge rip down the line. Christian thumping that one again. Unbelievable hang time from Fokkeroth. There's just so much deception in those options for Christians. Down the line is pure for Janus. That gives them set point number one. There's the jump set. The first one perfectly timed. And the slap to the line is perfect for Plavens. Second set point for Qatar. Tijan from the left. And Tijan loves to rip it down the line. And he does to put the exclamation point on this first set. Be so clean in these morning matches. Sometimes it can be tough. It's the early matches. Those first ones can be, you know, tensions a little high. You've got a little anxiety, a little nerves as well. Line to line. Quick serve. Nicely handled from Sharif. And Sharif going high and hard through the hands of Christians. Janus coming in for the quick one. And Janus continues to rip it, this time up the middle. The communication has to be high. Plavens inside to the line. Tijan's got wheels. Fokkeroth to reset things. Fokkeroth's high hand. What a read from Tijan. And then the acrobatic swing from Sharif Janus. What a start here for Qatar. And there's Tijan. He's just quietly going about his business at the backcourt. Suddenly there's something he can get. And he's like, yeah, yeah, I'm on it. He's like, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, a dog with a ball. Inside set for Tijan. Goes fast to the cutty. That is a good response for Qatar. And Plavens sitting in the crosscourt. He's been defending that incredibly, saying, if you want to go this way. Tijan trying to go into the wind here crosscourt on Plavens. It's going to be a tight ball. And that is going to be one as Sharif with the flex down. It's always going to be so much harder when your opponent's going with two when you're one. And can you keep the hold? And can you get the spin off? Fokker way back into their court. Another tough ball from Plavens. And they're going to look for the over. But that ball was definitely in the plane of the net. They're using a lot of wrist as well. Christians with eight blocks in the previous max just yesterday. Frustrated. Tijan off the net. Fokker presses the pole dig. But it's an overpass. And it's look out below as Amit Tijan trying to take Plavens head off with that swing. And I'm not sure if Plavens saw it was going out. Tijan look out below again. A couple of lines. Plavens galloping in. Plavens surgical cross-court chop is good. Great shielding from Janus as he lets that one go long. Christian takes his look. That shot too easy for Tijan. Tijan in transition through the hands of Fokkerots. 59. Christians detonating there on that swing. Excellent response from the youngster. This is what I'm designed for. A little off the net. Nice roll up from Janus. But Tijan losing a little bit of that vision with that pass. Tijan puts a hand up. I think was a little unsure whether he wanted to commit to that dig or not. Got to be some service pressure now. Option. That means not the service pressure you were looking for, to me, he says. Plavens going to work to come out of the middle. And then Plavens opens up a ton of room to that line, for that medium-high line. Clever shoot service line. Can he thread this middle again? Pass from Tijan. And Tijan trying to go to that low line. And there is Fokkerots with a big block. Christian Fokkerots at the neck. High pass. Tijan's going to stay overhead there. What elevation from Ed Tijan. Plavens fighting off that tough serve. A little bit inside. Excellent pull from Janus. And a little too tight on the set from Tijan. And Fokkerots makes Qatar pay. Sharp. Christian's aggressive off that inside hand of Sharif for the kill. If you come in strong and swinging high, then there's a good chance you're going to get those ricochets. Good change out from Tijan. Just coming in so aggressive. That opens up that high line. Plavens from the right to the line. Too good, too quick for Martin Plavens. Nice decision-making from Qatar. They've been making some good pulls. It might have been a bit iffy on the contact on the one before. Second match point for Qatar. They will take it. As that serve goes right into the middle of the net for Christian Fokkerots. So our first semifinal in the books. It is Qatar who steady out in this one and get the W.