Reigning world champions Alison Cerutti (pictured) and Bruno Oscar Schmidt of Brazil made an indifferent start to men's pool play action at the FIVB World Tour Poreč Major Series event ©Getty Images

Top seeds Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt of Brazil made an indifferent start to men's pool play action at the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) World Tour Poreč Major Series event, suffering defeat in their second match after opening with a win.

The reigning FIVB world champions began their Pool A campaign by beating Croatia’s Marin Jercic and Kresimir Karaula 21-15, 21-15 before losing 21-17, 16-21, 14-16 against 17th-seeded Grzegorz Fijalek and Mariusz Prudel of Poland.

Cerutti and Oscar Schmidt must now win their match tomorrow against Italy’s Adrian Carambula and Alex Ranghieri - who beat Fijalek and Prudel 21-18, 14-21, 15-12 and Jercic and Karaula 21-10, 21-10 - and hope to have a better point ratio than their rivals.

Defending champions Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen of The Netherlands also had mixed fortunes, beating Slovenia’s Nejc Zemljak and Jan Pokeršnik 21-15, 21-16 before falling to a surprise 19-21, 21-18, 13-15 defeat at the hands of 18th-seeded qualifiers Saymon Barbosa and Gustavo "Guto" Carvalhaes. 

It was the Brazilians’ second three-set win of the day after getting the better of 15th-seeded Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst of Austria, 25-23, 19-21, 15-11.  

Barbosa and Guto, who won a gold medal at the Cincinnati Open in May, can secure top spot in Pool B by defeating Zemljak and Pokeršnik tomorrow.

Defeat would give the winner of Brouwer and Meeuwsen’s match with Doppler and Horst a chance to surpass them on a point ratio tie-breaker.

Following the conclusion of pool play tomorrow morning, the men will play one round of elimination in the afternoon.

Brazil's Saymon Barbosa and Gustavo Carvalhaes won both their matches today ©FIVB
Brazil's Saymon Barbosa and Gustavo Carvalhaes won both their matches today ©FIVB

In the women's event, defending champions and top seeds Talita Antunes and Larissa Franca secured top spot in Pool A with a 21-10, 21-18 victory at the expense of Canada's Jamie Broder and Kristina Valjas.

Awaiting them in the second elimination round are 13th seeds Marta Menegatti and Viktoria Orsi Toth of Italy, who came second in Pool D after beating Canada's Sarah Pavan and Heather Bansley 24-22, 19-21, 15-10 and then went on to overcome Germany's Teresa Mersmann and Isabel Schneider 21-14, 21-16 in the first elimination round. 

Broder and Valjas defeated Switzerland's Joana Heidrich and Nadine Zumkehr 23-21, 21-19 in the first elimination round, setting up a tie with Pool F winners Maria Antonelli and Liliane Maestrini of Brazil.