Lupo and Nicolai open FIVB World Tour Finals campaign with victory over top seeds

Italian duo Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai claimed victory over American top seeds Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson

Italian duo Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai sprung a surprise on the opening day of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) World Tour Finals in Fort Lauderdale as they claimed a straight-sets win over home favourites and top seeds Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson.

Lupo and Nicolai, a wild-card entry for the inaugural edition of the event, produced a superb display on their way to securing a 21-16, 21-18 success to stun the partisan home crowd inside the 4,000-capacity arena.

The result saw the Italian team make the perfect start to their Pool A campaign on a day where three matches had to be postponed due to concerns over the depth of the sand.

There were no such problems for reigning FIVB world champions and second-seeded Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt of Brazil, who led 21-18, 7-3 in their match with Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst of Austria before Horst was forced to retire through illness.

The American team of Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena, seeded 10th, also got their pursuit of World Tour gold off to a winning start as they comfortably beat seventh seeds Ben Saxton and Chaim Schalk of Canada 23-21, 21-12 in Pool B.

In the women’s competition, newly-crowned FIVB world champions and fourth-seeded Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas of Brazil proved too strong for the Spanish duo of Elsa Baquerizo and Liliana Fernandez.

Reigning FIVB world champions Barbara Seixas and Agatha Bednardczuk of Brazil got their World Tour Finals campaign off to a winning start ©Getty Images

Bednarczuk and Seixas signalled their intentions from the outset and never looked likely of being on the end of a shock defeat as they clinched a 21-18, 21-17 victory.

Elsewhere, Canada’s Heather Bansley and Sarah Pavan, seeded third, were made to work hard for their win over American wild-cards Emily Day and Jen Kessy, eventually emerging from a thrilling match with a 21-13, 15-21, 16-14 win in the only Pool A match to take place today.

Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst made it a miserable day for Baquerizo and Fernandez by clinching a narrow 21-9, 23-25, 15-9 success, which saw the Spaniards succumb to their second defeat of the day.

Another wild-card-entry, Lauren Fendrick and April Ross of the United States, claimed a 24-22, 21-14 victory over Canadian duo Jamie Lynn Broder and Kristina Valjias.

The top three from each pool in both the men’s and women’s competitions will progress to the elimination round, which takes place on Friday (October 2).