Russia's Semenov/Krasilnikov progress at beach volleyball Fuzhou Open

Russia's Konstantin Semenov/Viacheslav Krasilnikov added a third win to top their group as men's pool plays came to a close at the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball Fuzhou Open on Thursday.

In Semenov/Krasilnikov's final pool match they beat Todd Rogers/Slick Stafford from the United States, and the win placed them top of pool B allowing them to enter directly in round two of the single elimination tournament on Friday.

The first set began quickly with both Semenov/Krasilnikov and Olympic veteran Rogers and new partner Slick racking up the points. Semenov's 2.08m frame at the net began to gain the advantage as the Russians edged ahead. Excellently executed set play by Semenov/Krasilnikov made the game appear as if it would soon be over, but Rogers/Slick were never far away.

With two very different styles of volleyball on display, each produced results and each proved a challenge for the opposition. The second set was heading again in Semenov/Krasilnikov's favor, but Rogers' solid experienced play and Slick's work at the net brought the score even at 16-16.

Russia maintained their strength in the final stages and careful Russian ball control claimed the last point and concluded Semenov/Krasilnikov's third straight win in Fuzhou 2-0 (21-17, 21-19).

"We're feeling very good, we got first place in the group. It's our first tournament this year and I'm very happy with the condition of my team. We have good tactics with our coach, so good everything," said Krasilnikov.

"I think with this play for me and my partner today, we can go to the final. We want to get in the final," he added.

American Nicholas Lucena/Theodore Brunner finished top of Pool C after winning each of their three matches and progress to the knockouts along with Kotsilianos Georgios/Zoupani Nikos from Greece and Australia's Cole Durant and Casey Grice.

Lucena/Brunner got together again at the end of last year competing in the Mangaung Open, finishing just outside the final four. In their final pool match, the U.S. pair played Kotsilianos/Zoupani who had achieved a similar result in the South African tournament.

The first set saw good skill at the net from the Greek men, but calm confidence from Lucena/Brunner kept the US team ahead all the way. Brunner's consistently accurate setting gave way to Lucena and the second set again belonged to the United States. Refusing to go without a fight, Kotsilianos managed to save match point, but an unfortunate tip into the net meant the win belonged to Lucena/Brunner 2-0 (21-16, 21-16).

"We're feeling good, we're still trying to adjust but we're getting there. For the first tournament of the year I think we're doing alright and it's been fun so far," said Lucena.

"The match was good. That Greek team - I've seen them play a lot, I've always been impressed with them so I knew we had to come out hard otherwise they were going to win the pool. So it was a good match, they played well, we played a little better," said Brunner.

Meanwhile, none of the four Chinese pairs could progress through to the single elimination stage.

In its third consecutive year, the Fuzhou Open is the first double-gender event of the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar with a prize purse of 150,000 US dollars. The men's medal matches will be held on Saturday and the women's medal matches will be held on Sunday. Endi