Italians prevent home win for Russia

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Daniele Lupo (right) celebrates winning the Sochi Open with partner Paolo Nicolai. Photo credit: FIVB.

When it comes to birthday presents it probably doesn’t get much better than a gold medal, right?

Well that was the case for Italian Daniele Lupo who celebrated his 25th birthday in style by winning the Sochi Open with partner Paolo Nicolai.

It meant there was no home celebration in Sochi on Sunday as the Italians denied Russian partnership Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Konstantin Semenov in the final.

The home favorites had already beaten their final opponents in the pool stages earlier in the week. But there was no stopping Nicolai and Lupo this time as they followed up their silver at the Fuzhou Open by going one better to top the podium and toast Lupo’s birthday.

“Daniele was at his best and carried us to victory this week. What a birthday present for him,” said Nicolai. “We are delighted with this win, especially playing a strong Russian team here in Sochi.”

It was the Italians’ third podium finish of the year, adding to their growing collection of medals. It was the pair’s fourth gold together and their first FIVB gold since winning the Shanghai Grand Slam in March 2014.

Despite the disappointment for the hosts, Krasilnikov and Semenov claimed their first medal of the season and 225 ranking points.

Meanwhile America also sealed spot on the podium as Tri Bourne and John Hyden won the bronze medal match with a tight 2-1 win over Italians Adrian Carambula and Alex Ranghieri.