Olympic gold medalists in action not once but twice at Polson Pier

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Photocredit: Sebastian Marko

There’s a dozen of delightful beach volleyball matches starring the best in the business on the second day of the pool play at the Swatch World Tour Finals in Toronto today.

And if you’re in the mood to witness Olympic gold medalists then Polson Pier’s the place to be.

German duo Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst are in action twice, kicking off their pursuit of gold on Canadian sand at 12.30pm on Court 2 against Argentina’s Gallay/Klug before returning to the sand four hours later to take on Switzerland’s Heidrich/Zumkehr.

So with 12 top-class matches here’s our take on the six games you can’t miss on the Center Court today.

Who? Liliana/Elsa (ESP) v Broder/Valjas (CAN)
When? 12.30pm
Why? The Spaniards won silver at the Long Beach Grand Slam and are in great form but can they overcome the crowd who will back home favorites representing Canada in the day’s first game?

Who? Walsh/Ross (USA) v Bawden/Clancy (AUS)
When? 1.30pm
Why? The American team won bronze in Rio and have only finished once out of the top three in 10 tournaments this season. They want another medal in Canada but today they face an Australian duo who need a victory to keep alive their hopes of topping the pool after defeat yesterday.

Who? Lucena/Dalhausser (USA) v Kantor/Losiak (POL)
When? 2.30pm
Why? Last year the Americans won silver and this time around they want gold. They fought back to win their opening game yesterday but can they keep up the momentum against the consistent Polish team?

Who? Saxton/Schalk (CAN) v Hyden/Bourne (USA)
When? 3.30pm
Why? It’s Canada versus America as home heroes Saxton/Schalk kick-off their tournament against a team who recorded a fantastic result on Wednesday by beating the Brazilians. This could be a cracker!

Who? Ludwig/Walkenhorst (GER) v Heidrich/Zumkehr (SUI)
When? 4.30pm
Why? Olympic gold medalists from Germany won silver at the Swatch World Tour Finals in Fort Lauderdale last year and they will be all-out to cap a wonderful season with gold in Toronto. The Swiss are no pushovers – they reached the quarters at the Olympics and won silver at the A1 Major Klagenfurt before Rio.

Who? Bansley/Wilkerson (CAN) v Laboureur/Sude (GER)
When? 5.30pm
Why? The Canadians are on a roll following their dramatic country quota victory on Tuesday and after a win in the pool play yesterday they are eyeing top place in the pool. But it won’t be easy against an in-form German team who showed the world what they can do when winning gold at the Poreč Major in July.

All the games will be streamed live on our website, together with a live ticker keeping you bang up-to-date with the scores as they happen. Click here for today’s schedule.