A week off did wonders for local pro beach volleyball stars Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser.
The 2008 Olympic gold medalists rebounded from a fourth-place finish in a SWATCH-FIVB World Tour tournament in Shanghai, China two weeks ago by winning the $600,000 Foro Italico Grand Slam in Rome on Sunday night
Rogers-Dalhausser, the tournament’s top-seed, defeated Brazil’s Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego, 23-21, 21-11, in a 47-minute final at the Parco del Foro Italica center court.
Americans also won gold in the women’s competition as Jen Kessy and April Ross beat Germany’s Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig, 21-19 and 21-17, in the championship match.
The champions in each division split $43,000.
After playing in Brazil, Santa Barbara and China on consecutive weekends, a week break from tournaments allowed Rogers to rest the left hand he injured during the championship of the domestic Nivea AVP Tour Santa Barbara Open on May 2. The hand bothered him during the tournament in China.
Rogers and Dalhausser have now won two of the first three tournaments on the FIVB World Tour in addition to the first two events on the AVP Tour.
Their meeting with Cerutti and Rego was the third this season. Rogers-Dalhausser took the first one, the championship in the Brasilia Open in Brazil, while the Brazilians prevailed in the bronze medal match two weeks ago in Shanghai.
Rogers-Dalhausser advanced to the final in Rome by beating Spain’s Pablo Herrera and Adrian Gavira in a morning semifinal, 21-14, 21-17. Cerutti-Rego knocked off 2009 world champions Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann of Germany, 18-21, 21-19, 21-19, in the other semifinal.
“After playing two very tough matches Saturday to reach the semi-finals, it was great to only play two sets in each of our wins today,” Rogers told the FIVB. “We defeated two very good teams today and we played very well in both matches. It is great to have two gold medals to our credit this season after three events.”
Sunday’s two wins propelled Dalhausser and Rogers to the top spot on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour ranking as the Americans have amassed 1,820 points and $84,700 in winnings this year. Alison and Emanuel are second with 1,740 points and $65,500 in earnings. Brink and Reckermann are third (1,400 points, $47,000).
Dalhausser and Rogers are now 10-3 in FIVB finals and 5-3 against Brazilian pairs.
The FIVB World Tour continues with single-gender events (May 25-30) in Seoul, South Korea (women) and Myslowice, Poland (men). The American players return to the AVP Tour in Huntington Beach, June 3-6. They’ll then head overseas again for a FIVB grand slam event in Moscow, June 7-14.
