Top seeds Ahman & Hellvig survive tough three-set eighthfinal against Diaz & Alayo

PARIS, France, August 4, 2024.- The world’s number one team David Ahman & Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden advanced to the quarterfinals after putting a stop to Noslen Diaz & Jorge Alayo’s fantastic run at Paris 2024.

Top-seeded Ahman & Hellvig had to battle it out through a tough three-set duel with 16th-seeded Cubans Diaz & Alayo to celebrate a hard-earned 2-1 (21-11, 26-28, 15-11) victory and a spot among the quarterfinalists, while handing the opponents their first defeat of the tournament and putting an end to their inspiring Cinderella story.

After a one-sided first set, Diaz & Alayo put up an epic fight in the second, pushing it deep into overtime, inspired by the loud support they were getting from the packed stands, and prompting a tie-breaker.

The Swedish jump-setters regained control in the third set and although their opponents from the Caribbean never gave up, the favourites managed to emerge with the victory. After a spectacular dive by Ahman in defense, Hellvig put away the 15-11 match winner. Hellvig excelled with an impressive eight kill blocks and three aces towards a 28-point match high. Ahman added another 20 points towards the victory, while Alayo led the Cuban duo with 26 points.

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