Thamela/Victoria 🇧🇷 vs. Gottardi/Orsi Toth 🇮🇹 - Full Match | Rio 2025 - Elite | Quarterfinals

A live coverage of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. We have got an absolute cracker coming up. It's the Women's Quarterfinals and it's the number one seed from Brazil, Tamara and Vitoria, up against the number four seed, Valentina Gattaglia and Reka Orsitov, the winners from Hamburg, back on our Beach Pro Tour and we couldn't be more excited. Denise Assin here with me, here with me and alongside me is Kyle Redd and we are getting ready to rumble, Kyle. Thank you, Denise, for opening up for us here. We're going to take a quick bathroom break, you know, sometimes you got to go and things are quick here. It's a beautiful shot of the sunset coming down here in Brazil and it is quarterfinals as we take a look at our Women's Bracket. Here on Stadium Court, of course, we have Tamara and Vitoria taking on the Italian teams, Gattaglia and Orsitov. Fresh off of their gold medal in Hamburg, kind of their breakout performance. It was here last year in Brazil where they walked away with a fifth place finish, kind of put them on the map and they've been getting better and better as we hear from Maradona introducing our squads. Number two, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome and make some noise, Reka Odiniconti and Sweet Yellow Tubs from Brazil. So, ladies and gentlemen, and Valentina Gattardi and Victoria Lopez. Different in their own right, the swagger, the speed, the IQ from Victoria Lopez, and then the absolute sheer power from Gattardi. She is going to make some absolute incredible plays in this match. Get your popcorn ready, fans, for this one. Lopez getting underway with that jump serve. And there's a good angle from Gattardi to start things off. Valentina having to contain a tricky jump serve right from the get-go. It ricochets, but Reka delivering for Valentina and keeping her right on the net, exactly where Italy wants to play. Tamela overhead. Tamela trying to wrap it back to that sideline, barely misses. Valentina is going to take that one. Shots altered, getting in the face of the Brazilian attack and forcing that one wide. Good float there from Reka. Nobody up. Good pull from Gattardi to keep that one alive. Gattardi off the net and tries to go deep middle, too much. Great decision-making from Valentina, immediately on the peel. And it's the lego hands, the high hands, that allow that perfect ricochet back to Reka. Unfortunate on the swing through transition. And Tamela back to serve. Reka to the sand. Up and down ball, Reka. Perfect. How about it? The precision from Orsitov. And as soon as she realized that Tamela had made the peel, she then readjusts the contact that she's going to throw onto the ball and just takes it up and over and away to the line. Unable for Tamela to get any kind of wheels on. Tough float serve. Overpass here for Italy. Gattardi to the line. No lucky cookie for Valentina there. And I know fans of Valentina will be very happy because when she goes for a big, wide, bold swing previously and then she settles down and gets a little bit more craft into her game, that's when you start to get really excited about how good Valentina is going to be. Sky is the limit for the potential on Gattardi and that's a really nice short serve. And Lopez taking in the defensive movement and says, I can see the jumble angle is available. And Italy doing their very hardest to hold before they shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, I can't think of what it is. That move in defense. But Vittoria keeping the longest of looks. What a pickup by Erika. Incredible, but Vittoria on one. Valentina very aware of it. And we are getting some funky plays already. And it is Vittoria going after Valentina with the high hand. She can't get her feet stable. Who finally is ricocheted off and out by the Brazilians. Just a little preview of what's to come here in this match here. And you have to be on your toes when you're playing Vittoria Lopez because she has known to attack whenever the ball comes her way. Valentina's got time here. It's going to be an opportunity, but a tomahawk out of control. And so good press, good pressure. Therefore, worse it's off to create some challenges. Exactly. There was a whole heap of pressure from the serve. Valentina, she has to wait a long time for that set to come down. Rekha, then what difficult questions can you ask of your opponents? In that instance, she just goes, you know, I'm just going to put a little bit of extra ping on my swing. An uncontrolled dig from Brazil. Rekha going with that jump serve. Good lead there for the Brazilians. The Brazilians undefeated so far in this one. They had a tight battle against Xenia Tillman and Svenja Muller in three sets in the previous round of 12 match. Find themselves here in the quarterfinal, but there is Tamela. Her float serve, it's got to be one of the best of zero spin, Denise. She never puts spin on that float serve. No, and she just takes off perfectly and she's really getting in quick. So the ball is moving at pace as well. It's a proper ping as she contacts it. Right, get to the line. Victoria is there. Lopez in transition. Good cover from Tamela. This one's still alive. The bang bang play. And Valentina telling Carlos Rivera that she didn't touch that block. It's so hard to see if you're a referee. So what happened mid-rally is it felt like maybe Brazil called touch and Valentina's going, I didn't touch it. She was nowhere near it. So it's a bit of a weird one. Oh, on the previous, on the previous play, the swing to the net from Victoria. Okay. Yeah. And where Valentina looked like she had blocked it, but might've been a little bit low. We don't have the on-net cameras. It's already, she's laughing about it. She knows she missed it big. Still laughing at Erika. Athletes still have fun. Even when they make mistakes here in the Beach Bro Tour, not a problem. Good read from Lopez. Unbelievable. In transition. You better believe it. And there is a look of intensity on the face of Victoria Lopez. Wow. What a positional hold from Victoria as well. Reka had a big line open, but she went hard for the cross and Victoria just corralling it so perfectly. She gets delivered back from Tamela. Reka, good adjustment there on that swing. No defense in the angle for Brazil. And I like the fact that Reka's doubled down on a heavy angle as well, because the temptation when you've been dug on such an extreme is to go somewhere else. So the fact she's doubled down, Victoria's second guessing and she's moving away from that. So well played. Reka Orsitov just settling it down. Reka going right back to it. Short serve here on Tamela. She retreats. Tamela chipping to the angle is good. Excellent work there on that short serve. An interesting defense from Italy. Doubling up on the line on Tamela. So the late jump by Ghitadi. Maybe she saw something, went away from where she was maybe meant to be. But well played. Tamela get into the big zone that was left wide open for you. Option incoming from Valentina. It doesn't quite get that pure hand contact. And Valentina doesn't shy away from taking a rip, but just that one is a bit forced, a little bit far off the net. Had to turn a lot more before she got the contact. What a serve to the middle. It dips, it dives all the way across the net. A clean eight for Tamela Cordello. And if you are being really kind of critical, which sometimes I feel like that's probably my job, to be a little bit more critical than maybe some people might be. Valentina twitching to try and insert herself into the game a little bit. In that movement, then Reka thinks, OK, well, you've got it, and then she pulls back. So if you're going to start muscling in on your partner, you better do it with conviction, because you can't do it half-hearted, especially the pace with which that's coming. Because there's no way Reka could react after Valentina pulled out. Head coach, Katarina DeMarinis there with Italy in the box. Coach is allowed to coach only in timeouts. No coaching during the play. They have to sit on their hands a little bit. It can be challenging for coaches. Break into the line, over, on two. Good pick up from Katardi. Nobody up, look out below. Oh, that's not coming back. And Valentina finds the rhythm on that swing. Love the positional play from Victoria, to actually be in harm's way to get something on it. And all it takes is, how do you train against this? Well, you've got to get in a position where you get to experience it first. Then you start to understand what kind of shape you need to keep it on your side and playable by your partner. Good direction on that flow, sir. Nobody up for Tamela. And Tamela doesn't quite get the contact she was hoping for there on the pull in Katardi. Certainly is. And it's the decision-making, it's the timing of that pull, which then gets in the hitter's mind. And you do get forced errors if you time it perfectly. This time to the line, Tamela. Quick little low swing on the line off the block of Katardi. If there's one thing I'd like to see sometimes with Katardi, she tends to go up and it contacts with her forearms a lot, which says she's going high. But I'd like to see her press and try and grab that ball a little bit more. Short serve. Katardi, cross court. Tamela's turning on the wheels to get that one. Good pick up from Reka. Look for the on two to the middle. And Victoria pointing to the crowd. She likes that one. Well played, Victoria. She knew that Italy were vulnerable. She went for the on two and she had to hit that spot perfectly. And she really, really did. Valentina very aware that it was coming, but couldn't. She made the pull. Couldn't get her feet underneath it to then get a redirected play. Just a touch from Victoria. She knew she couldn't hit it too hard. Had some energy coming with it. Just the tap as we see Carlos Rivera Rodriguez from Puerto Rico on our stand. Shout out to Carlos and Vincent Roche. Moving off from the stand to the sand. Monitoring everything underneath the net and on the net. It's a multi-person job refereeing with the line judges as well. Shout out to all of our staff, referees, line judges, volunteers that make these events special. It is not easy to put on these events. And it's important to have those staff members at the top of their game. So we appreciate you. And also I'd like to say that Carlos Rivera Rodriguez, that L stands for Lenny. And everyone calls him Lenny. Oh, okay. Good to know. I'll be sure to say hello to Lenny later. Both has good pace and direction on that one. Oh, even better for Reka. She didn't have many angles available, Denise, but finds one. I know. And it's always hard to defend against the lefty when you don't play against them that often. And Reka's finding some sublime angles. Keep in mind that Victoria's been kind of moving across and camping over there. So well played, Reka. And what a serve to back it up with. Victoria off the net. No vision. Doesn't matter for Victoria Lopez. She's got all the shots. Talk about putting angles and snaps and making it unreadable. Italy just dug in. Can't react at all. Good adjustment step close from Victoria. Chopping Italy up. Tamela just drops a little too quick. And that's what happens with the float serve. It has a mind of its own, the Mikasa. So sometimes she'll move above the net. Sometimes she'll drop below. So a break there for the Italians. Tamela. Nice little poke back from the first poke shot we've seen from Cordello. And in between matches, we went out for a quick break. And the wind is really picking up. So the wind behind Tamela right now is really, really tricky. So what she did with the control of the pass, bringing it down and accelerating that play. Just use the poke because that's the one that allows you to keep control in the wind. Chop there. Off speed is good from Reka. Reka elevating, making sure that she looks like she could hit it anywhere. And then as she goes to contact the ball, it's just that last minute change of the wrist. And what again, going up to the ball. And she looks like she's going one way and then catching the ball. Possibly at nine o'clock. So it goes right away from Tamela to the sideline. Brilliant. Right back to it. Not a sharp. Tamela on the line. That's it. A little low for Tamela. She tries to get that quick arm on it, but hitting error. And do you think sometimes when you're playing a player like Vittardi, who is literally the best hitter of the ball that I've ever seen in my 41 years of playing. And that's saying something, I think. That you get in danger of caught up in trying to play that kind of game yourself. I agree. I think it's possible you see something you want to elevate your game to match that level. And unfortunately for the rest of the world, no one can match Vittardi's level on the power and the ferociousness as she swings. And you said it. You've been around this game for a very long time. You've never seen anything like it. No, I had some discussions about who might be the greatest hitters of the ball. So Elaine Young comes into that. I would say that Julia Scholes is on the verge of that conversation. But as we go to the timeout with Marco Char, with Tamela and Vittoria. So Tamela came in with a big swing and didn't make it over the net. And I think there was an opportunity there for short play, but she was coming in swinging after a big swinging error. And that's where you've got to be a little bit careful. And this is why the timeout is so crucial. Good lift from Tamela. Perfect timing defensively for Italy. Can they find another one? They do. Rika has been smooth when that ball is about three, two, three meters off the net. She is very comfortable. And that's where you want to hit the rewind button. And how smooth the defense move was. The pull, the move to the line. Perfect. Just unfortunately, back up an exquisite move with something else. Can Brazil push back here after that miss serve? Good pass from Rika. Poking back to the line. That one is good for Orsitov. And it's a great move, but I'm sure Tamela's thinking, I could see that one coming, but I'm in the air. OK, note to self, next time it's a little more inside. What am I going to do to adapt my defense? 17-15. Tamela across court. Not enough heat. Rika there. Rika's been good in transition. Good pull dig from Tamela. And then at the face of Guttardi. Precision strike for Tamela. That was an incredible hit down the line. I had zero belief that it was going to go at Guttardi. But she just took the pulling block on. And Guttardi probably not expecting such power either. Down the line. Good save from Rika to open that brilliant set from Guttardi that absolutely silences this crowd. And Tamela did adjust her defensive position, but it was too soon because she bent Italy out of shape. She thought, I'll be better off on the backcourt. She went too early. And Rika, plenty of vision, finds the middle. Tamela down the line. And there is Guttardi coming out of nowhere. And she's got that look on her face. And that's one of those where Italy just doubled up. So that was a big jump by Guttardi. Sensing that Tamela's not showing any kind of angle. She's like, I've got you at the net. I'm not going to let my defender have this one. It might be yours, but hey. Up and down ball. It's a bit tight. Excellent move from Orsita. In transition, not yet. Lopez, cut shot over on one. Goodness gracious. That is a confident looking Rika Orsita. We were expecting the return to send it to come from Victoria Lopez heading into this match. Absolutely. But it was Rika who just pulled the plug. Too easy. She's like, here we go. Why do three when I can do it in one? It's a 20, 16, and another ace back to the sideline. Orsita, go ahead and have yourself a set. And Rika from the service line just took that one away. Prior to that, she had dismantled them. This time, she just took it out in one. And it's really hard to read if you're a Tamela. And the fact she's not moved to the sidelines to shield it, those are the details. And maybe Brazil a little bit anxious coming into this. This is the fourth time, the fifth time that these two teams have played. They've only beaten them once. So they haven't got a great track record against them. So maybe coming into this at home, they're a little bit more ramped. I expect a completely different number one coming out after this. I would agree with you there. A little adjustment needed to be made. One of those being on that serve from Orsita. Maybe taking that little step to that sideline, just kind of protecting there. Take a look at some of the numbers. More kills or attack points for Italy. One block, limited errors from Italy. Just one more error for Brazil. So much else there. But the defense opportunities were higher for Italy. Rika putting herself in great position. The timing of Valentina and Rika's movement together is what you're looking for from the top teams in the world. And they are proving it here. Gattardi to the line. Good save from Rika. But it's going to be a block for Tamela. And whatever you can do, I can do too. So good words with this El Tamela going late to that line block, tempting Valentina. And you've got to work really hard to get the press because it will come through if you're not organized. What a serve to the sideline. No hope for Rika to get that one. And Victoria quickly walking back, looking to reload. This is a beautiful move by Brazil already. Going after Italy, who called a timeout already. Big, big timeout already. I think Valentina maybe has hurt herself actually. So yeah, not quite the timeout that we're expecting. But yeah, Brazil going after Valentina. You know, Rika's been so solid. Dexterous, diverse, difficult to defend. And so why not? OK, you've just lost the first set. What are we going to do different? You've got to throw everything at it. Unless you're playing the long game on Rika. But Rika is leveling up through every single stage of this Beach Pro Tour. Yeah, it's exciting to see her growth over the last couple of years. And Gattardi's hand getting a little bit of love right now. It's already taped up. And so hopefully she is OK. I just look on all of our faces right now as well as Valentina. So they took their timeout, which means they didn't take a mega difficult timeout or a recovery interruption time. 2-0 after the quick timeout from the Italians. Gattardi cross court. And the confusion there on the free ball for Italy. Wow, that's going to hurt. That's kind of the move that you least expected in that situation. And Brazil could not believe their luck. Rika tight to the net and out it goes. And so the run continues for Brazil. How can Italy stop the bleeding right now? Gattardi, the sharp knuckle cutty is good. Weird, but works. What I love about this play is Rika's positioning on the path to set. She has to go so low to get a good quality ball. And that is very, very well worked. And the patience. Good bump set. Tamela nicely snuck around the block of Gattardi. A good move by Tamela, making sure that she's moving her attack line, going with the wind. The wind is picking up. So you go away from the head referee, which keeps the set purer. And she can get a better hand contact on the ball. Out it goes, a little too much there, but some damage already done here for the Brazilians. Honestly, it's just a three point lead, Denise, but Italy a little rattled here to start this one. And that free ball drops and just, it hits it right in the heart, right in the soul. You expect a different Brazilian team for sure, but it was also the shakiness of the Italians at the start of it as well. We have game left to settle back in. And that's a smart pull from Gattardi. In transition, Gattardi looking for a touch. She's not going to get it. Brazil's very, very lucky on that one. But again, it's pressure, it's forcing the error as well. Beautiful move by Gattardi. You've got to sort of ask yourself, what did she see that allowed her to make that move and hit the rewind button and kind of think, would you have made that decision? Gattardi off the net. Oh, nice slap to the line, just correcting her error on that previous swing. Beautiful, love that. That was an incredibly difficult ball to do, but what they're doing so well is every time Brazil peel, and we know that's one of their superpowers, is they're hitting the lines, they're going away from the Brazilians. Tamala, up and down. Tamala doesn't have the lift that we're used to seeing. Her angles don't look as clean right now as that swing goes on the net. And there's a fine balance between putting it high and letting the wind get involved, or bringing it down and then getting a hurry up to hit. So Brazil are just struggling a little bit right now. And Valentina inserting herself, saw Vittoria coming, it was too prescriptive, and she was just lively and a good ricochet and backed up with a good hit to the corner. Yeah, just the emergency touch from Lopez trying to keep that one alive. Same kind of play, and that one is blocked again from Gattardi. And that's an interesting exchange between Valentina and Vittoria, because I thought that was a very good block from Valentina. She held herself, she was in a split position, she didn't look like she'd go under the net. It's a little tricky under the net, and just to clarify the rules for fans at home, you're allowed to go under the net as long as you're impeding the progress of those opponents from running into opponents. And now with pushback, Marco Char blocks with Brazil. And now the question here for Brazil after the timeout, how do you respond? Because the momentum has shifted back to the side of the Italians. Good long lift from Tamela. Tamela fast to the line, that's good. And Vittoria says, get over here, let me celebrate. Love that. Timeout. Play to the extremes, get fluid to the edges of the court. Don't allow Reka to get involved, because a ball controller movement right now has been just on point and threatening. Gattardi from the left, Gattardi detonation. One of the first real big rips we've seen from Valentina yet in this one. And this is the athleticism and the gymnastic move. She goes up like a gymnast who's about to do three somersaults in the air, but she's up in the air so high that it just opens up a big window for her. And she's got angles that are unknown to most other people. Great lift from Tamela. Overhead short poke. Reka there to clean it up. Reka transition over on one, but a net violation from Tamela as Vittoria was looking to attack again. It was a beautiful pickup from Reka. She stalled her approach and her footsteps to get a perfect pass. It was elongated and a beautiful delivery to Valentina. And then the pressure at the net forcing Brazil to error. Option taken. Nice effort for Valentina to come back and get that one. But you can see Vittoria trying to help out Tamela a little bit, leave a little of that pressure. And it's so crucial that you do do that. You start going on two, because then you start getting Italy having to double time, triple time on their defensive steps. Tamela, here comes Tamela. And you can see the relief on the face of Tamela there. And finally, there it is. Tamela working really hard. Has to work massively laterally. Big step. Reka getting a little too greedy though. You'd expect her to go up and over, but she's trying to put it away. Quick line to line serve. And that pass a little too tight. And Valentina is going to poke it out of bounds. And again, Tamela doing her job at the net, which is so important. Makes the press. Gets the pressure on. Doesn't allow Valentina to feel comfortable on that own two. Line blocks the call here for the Brazilians. Tamela pulling early. Vittoria on open net. Says, thank you very much. How about this? Go ahead and take it. Vittoria bringing the thunder on that swing. There's nothing better than controlling a hard-driven spike and then going in and absolutely battering it yourself. But you've got to say, Tamela, well set. You've released your partner to perfection. Tardy quick line swing off the right hand of Tamela. But this is good. She's getting involved. She's starting to get in their face. She's starting to make them feel a little bit more uncomfortable. And in that respect, then Italy will have to take their eye off the ball a little bit longer and make sure they understand where the defense from Brazil is. High spinning pass for Vittoria. Tamela controls it nicely. That was crucial for Brazil. I like thinking Vittoria behind Aussie toss serve. Really heavy to the line. Going at Vittoria. Pushing her away from Tamela. So that next time Tamela's got... Vittoria's got to guard her line. And then your target player has got to then take more space again. Because Vittoria had been squeezing across. So maybe you didn't get the result you wanted. But what you've done is go, get back over your side. We want our target player to have to be taking the bigger shares. Variety is key from the service line. It's keeping opponents guessing where you are going to serve. And so Reka's been doing a great job. She's got a couple of aces already in this one. A lot in that first set. Good adjustment from Brazil here in set number two. Not let Reka get in too much of a service rhythm. And what's interesting is it is usually Guitardi who's putting that pressure with her tough low serve one way or the other. And so what a nice treat here for the Italians to have Reka firing from the end line. Oh, beautiful faces all around in this arena. The crowd have got a little bit quiet. I think they need to get a bit more involved. I agree. Back into this one. Oh, nice touch from Reka. But it's an ace for Tamela. The two-hand celebration. And there's a little roar from the crowd. And on cue, definitely Tamela going to the crowd. Come on. This is it. We really, really need you. It's time to the line. Reka prepping out wide. Reka unloading cross court. Nobody out for Brazil. And I love that from Reka coming in so strong. Very strange decision making by Tamela who decides not to block. And I'm not sure what she's looking at. But Reka offloading yet again. Nobody out for Tamela. Reka trying to chase this one down. And Brazil doing a good job just putting enough pace on it to make Valentina struggle on these moments. They call that the temptation set from Brazil. It's tempted Valentina to make the peel. But it's just in the line of fire enough that Tamela can put it on and take Valentina on. Unfortunate for Brazil. They don't back it up. And Italy now looking to maybe dismantle, maybe change it up a little bit. Try and go after some zones. Off the net. Good save from Victoria. Tamela missing. Pushing that shot a little bit wide. It was well taken by Tamela. That big chunk of net slowing the ball down. But being taken to the floor, you don't get the same line of sight. And then she's distracted in the approach. A lot of errors for Tamela in the second set. Good adjustment there. Feels that little bit of space to the line. Knows that short is available. And Tamela had to adjust mid-flight. Didn't have the swing she was looking for. And taking it away from Reikin. Not allowing her to get a wiggle on to pick that up. It's already... Off the net. It's good. And Victoria in the angle. Quickly resetting. Moving over to the other side. And in that instant, Valentina is winding up for the big cross. She gets a big chunk of net. But there's a massive line sometimes. And I just think, you know, Brazil could really capitalize on the fact that she's getting a little bit greedy. And maybe there's some points to be found. 13-15 on the change. And you have to believe the wind is taking some of these balls here. We're not feeling it as much in the booth. But when we went on our break, you could feel the gusting. And so it's definitely a factor. Yeah, and that first serve after you change ends is so crucial. That one clipping the tape, but goes over. Oh, nice touch from Victoria. Sky ball the way of Italians. Tight ball to Reka. And Reka into the net. Reka's been near perfect offensively. She just had one error. Make that two. And that was crucial. What happened is a higher set. The wind brought it down a little quicker. It got away from her. She couldn't craft the cut that she was searching for. Valentina jumping out wide and still managing to get pace and angle on that swing. And that's the elevation that you see from Valentina. She has to go up, but sideways, but still keeps her structure on the ball. There's that cross court serve. A little poke over for Victoria. She says, good luck with this one. I call that the Aikido poke. You're just using the energy and the power of your opponents from the service line. You get something on it. It's firing in and just a little redirect. And they're not ready for it. Cheeky play from Victoria. Reka a little off the net. Drop shot is picked up. Victoria's looking to swing. That's blocked with cover. Oh, it's Amala. There it is. The cut shot poke is good. Incredible defense by both teams. But it's the self cover. And it's keeping that ball flying that little bit longer. Just calmly picking it up. Jumping up. You're tight. You're into a little bit of a battle here. But that is what the poke is for. Absolute perfect drop shot. Tamala, again, ending that momentum that they've been building with that service error. Still a healthy lead, though, for the Brazilians. They have responded well after dropping set number one. Tamala, there it is. Off the block is good. Set point number one now for the Brazilians. The best bit about that move for me from Tamala was the fact that she wasn't trying to hammer it. She sensed the space. She took it as high as she could and just was trying to go up and over. And Valentina couldn't get the reach. High pass. Valentina overhead. And Valentina chopping it to the cross court using that block of Tamala. This is big for Reka. This is the right rotation that Italy need. Valentina is at the net and Reka has been serving some pretty tricky serves. She's probably going to go, maybe go after Victoria into the wind, perhaps. Oh, the trickle ace for Reka. That's definitely the direction that you want to go in, because you've got a crosswind and it's harder to reach. Reka have another one in her. Victoria takes her look to the line. It's covered. Victoria wants another one. Reka there. Tight ball. This rally is still going. Oh, another dig from Reka. Oh, and that's set a little off the net for Reka from Orsitov. And it is Brazil who come back and get revenge in set number two and take it 21-17 over the Italians. Well, Reka was everywhere, but just that set at the end too far off. And I know Valentina loves to put her hands on it, but that instant has bumped dig set behind it to accelerate that set into the net. Brazil were peeling off. They needed it at the net because Brazil are now starting to get a groove when to block, when not to block. A good response as the teams go to the timeout. And even with all those errors from Tamala, it was nice to see her kind of settle in. You said it. She uses that vision late. That is the foundation of her game, is her vision. And she'll sprinkle in a couple of fast lines. She'll sprinkle in some angle swings, but it starts with the vision for her. She has six errors attacking right now and still they're managing to take that second set. And so what I saw late was settling. And so I'm assuming that same kind of flow will be moving in to set number three for Tamala. Quite an intense timeout for both of the coaches right now. Catarina De Marinis working with Italy and Marco Char with Brazil. Italy are first up out of the chairs. They're ready to rumble. They've been thwarted in the second set. They were playing some good ball, but Brazil definitely came out serving more effectively, making life really tricky. They start to, if Brazil serves well, then their defense just always kicks in They make some brilliant decision making. And just like our gold medal match in Hamburg, we're going three sets. Reka starting it off with a high line chip that lands in. Tamala thinking maybe I might want to make a challenge, but electing not to and just scrubbing in that ball mark. First point to Italy. Tamala off speed. That one stays alive with that stab dig from Reka. Tamala second time here. Reka in a good defensive flow, but so is Brazil. Nobody up and Tamala wraps it to the middle for the kill. My goodness, we were only at the second point of this and the defensive moves by both of these teams, the understanding of what can and can't happen. Reka working incredibly hard and Brazil having to really, really put precision in their finishes and that certainly was. Valentina wants to go overhead. That's set a little inside. Victoria with a chance to transition. This is going to be big for Brazil. That is touched off the block. And Valentina calling her touch there. Wow, that was close because it was out and if we didn't get the signal of the touch. But the players are definitely playing nice. Low pass. Good lift there. And there comes Valentina coming aggressive. Good recovery. Valentina got a very explosive window. It's a hurry up pass. Reka doing a fantastic job of just presenting that platform really, really low. And Valentina just coming in, working the hands of Tamala. Option the other way. What a cheeky shot. Beautiful decision making. But Victoria hasn't overexploited the on two. Hasn't hardly exploited the on one at all. But that's a testament to Italy's good offense. But this moment, this time, perfect decision making. Getting Reka all the way to her sideline. Victoria controlling the heat. Horaci Toth. Victoria's going to get stuck up at the net. The back set on two. Oh my goodness. And Victoria shaking her head. But honestly, it looks, I think, clean from my initial reaction. I could be wrong. It felt clean. It comes out square. She gets really, really low. So she can take it higher as well. So she did give the tell away. But Brazil weren't ready. Tamala, excellent. Brilliant. Just taking a lot off that ball. Slicing and dicing. In these instances, Tamala has to hold on in this corner. She's dragged through the back set. But a big line opens up. And Valentina electing to stay. So that's aggressive setting by Victoria. A little trouble here for the Italians. Putting it all the way up. Valentina not up at the net. Chance for Victoria in transition. And she capitalizes. You cannot leave that much space for Victoria Lopez. And this is why taking a long look at your opponents in transitional play. Understanding who's at the net. Who's blocking. Where are the vulnerabilities of your opponents. And then delivering the shot. Perfect middle serve. Gartardi aggressive there. And off the tape. And good for Valentina. It's really under pressure from the serve. Valentina had to take a very large chunk of the middle. She has to wait before she can go in. Rekka's not in a good position to find a set. But that one squeaked through for Italy. And Valentina delivering a big ace. Tamela no movement to follow it at all. Big point for Italy. Huge arc on that serve for Valentina. So it seemed as if Tamela was hoping and praying that one would just continue to go long. But the RPMs on that snap from Gartardi brought it back into the court. And we're all tied up five apiece. And she goes back with the float and misses. I think with the wind at your back, when you go for the float and you're recalibrating at the end switch. Just need a little less on it. Or maybe just keep that jump float going and go into the side wind. Gartardi down the line. And there is the massive grip that we'd love to see from Valentina Gartardi. Oh, it's so exciting. And she loves it every time. The biggest of smiles on her face as she completely winds up the high elbow. And it's just the fact that she hammers it perfectly. Tamela to the line. Bang, bang, play. It's going to stay alive. And Victoria gets another touch on it somehow. But overpasses advantage Gartardi all day long. But Victoria's touch. The fact she's in harm's way and getting it control. Tamela, why didn't you expect it? Gartardi at the net. In fine form. Tamela cut, poke, picked up. And then calmly in a return to option cut shot from Gartardi. And Rekha quietly holding on in the background. Doing her job. Discipline, patient. Okay, this is my time. Here you go though, Valentina. Because you're feeling it at the net. Let's get this hurry up play going. We're so accustomed to seeing Gartardi bring that big, powerful swing. And that time she opts for the finesse. And that's just part of the evolution of her game. And we're just so excited to see for her and Rekha. Such a young team on the B Pro Tour as we pop into the timeout. I can usually understand to an extent a Portuguese timeout. But the noise is so big that I just can't hear anything. Yeah, our resident Portugal resident here. Denise Austin spends her time in Portugal. Lives there now. And so a little bit of Portuguese here. We've got our own translator in the booth. Eight serving six. What kind of responses Brazil have? Off the net. Owen Rekha trying to go. And both Italian players have a chuckle about that one. It's the endeavor. It's the synergy between them. The fact that as Valentina lands and Rekha gets some incredible up. Valentina with the off the forearm touch. The creativity. Just a little unfortunate. But so prepared for anything. And that is very, very close. Barely out. You can see the ball mark. Lions are calling it out. They're calling it out as well. Great lead by Brazil. Goodness. Big move. I don't know if I would have left that one. No challenge from the Italians. Eight all. Rekha changing up her approach line. And it's with so much movement that Tamela can't even get set at the net. And that is executed perfectly. I would not want to be a blocker in today's game. The movement that Tamela has to do. But the finish from Rekha without a block up. They've got to be careful. Don't leave her alone too often. Full layout. Just surviving the service pressure from Guitardi. Rekha in transition. Nobody out. Tamela play a little bit of defense. Oh, and the knuckle pokey over the head of Orsi Top. We have seen some magic with the knuckles in this match. Wonderful. She comes up with the knuckle. Italy can see it coming. They just get the little jab on the contact because Rekha's sucked in and she sees it. And that's all it takes. A little movement by the elbow. Rekha to the line. It's good. And Tamela looking back at Victoria. Showing her the four signing. She wants Victoria running to that line late. And sometimes that happens. There's a bit of confusion. Really unfortunate for Brazil. But well watched for Rekha. Lopez. High looping shot to the line. Orsi Top stays with it. With a chance. Off the net. No vision for Victoria. She loves to go to that cut shot. Unbelievable. How does she hit that? As she's in that predicament, she knows full well that all the safe spaces are defended by Italy. So this roundhouse cut shot that just comes out of nowhere. The courage to go after it is incredible. 10 all. Race to five for a chance in the semi-finals. Cross court. Rekha takes it. That is a proper thumb by Rekha. She had to work incredibly hard. It was a big set from Valentina. Kept Tamela up. Tamela tries to get her hands on it. Victoria's frustrated as well. But beautiful seam swing. One tight ball. Poki to the middle. And Rekha still on the move. Not able to change directions. Well worked, Tamela. Pressure was on. The set was tight. You felt like Valentina was going to grab hold of it. She just did enough to confuse Italy. Deep jump serve. Tight ball. And that's going to go the way of Tamela. And a huge break for Brazil there as they capitalize on the tight set. And Italy, a little indecisive about whether they should call a timeout then. They kind of looked at their coach and then were like walking back to receive. But then Coach Caterina says, no, we're having a timeout right now. We need it. And are you the kind of coach, Denise, that says, hey, if you have that gut feeling, I want you to take that timeout? Or do you think otherwise? Maybe a player or a coach. What is your feeling on those timeouts? I like players playing on their own. And I may be alone. I don't think I am on this one. It's kind of 50-50. It's interesting to see people's response. We'll come back to that one after the listening with Caterina. Caterina in her notebook there. Making all the notes. What they need right now is just one good pass. A lot of balls the way of Reka. 29. Balls her way. 16 to Qatari. Going, Victoria wanted it down the line. And a massive cheer from Caterina at the sideline. Come on. That was wise. Yeah, that's the coach point, as we like to say. Caterina calling that timeout from the bench. 12 apiece. Tamela ricocheting that one. She got it. I think through the block. But it was not a full pace. Not greedy over. High enough that she gets the luck because she's trying to go over her and gets it through. Some frantic finger waving by Vicky to serve Victoria maybe. But they've gone after Reka. And they've got a massive... Incredible. Reka has been so consistent and is so unfortunate that she has erred at this crucial moment. Match point number one for the Brazilians. Right back to Reka. Reka cross court. She does not miss this time. Italy hold on. That was a big swing. The ball was going away mid-flight. She hadn't quite got the positioning she was looking for. But she snapped her wrist back into the ball and found that baseline. The crowd on their feet. Oh, and Guitardi takes the bravest serve. Haven't seen her jump serve too much and finds the ace. Huge. I haven't seen a serve like that. That was incredible. Took it really high. Put maximum velocity on it. And Victoria couldn't control it. Oh, and Guitardi into the net there to the delight of this crowd. But we are all jeweled up. Saving two match points. Italy with a little bit of clutch. Can they continue? Second match point for the Brazilians. Tight ball. Good save. But it's going to be over the net and dumped back down. Victoria and Tamela flip the script to get their second win ever. Against this team. They come back after losing set number one. An emotional victory for Tamela and Victoria. Incredible scenes here. Getting the...