The Brazilian duo got their eighth win the in the #FTLMajor to advance to the final

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Carol Horta and Taiana are having an amazing run in the Fort Lauderdale Major

Taiana Lima and Carol Horta have had a long journey in the 2018 Fort Lauderdale Major, but they are not done yet. The Brazilians started their week in Florida on Monday’s country-quota and now are only one victory away from the gold medal of the first Beach Major Series event of the year after a 2-1 (21-13, 12-21, 15-13) semifinal win over Germany’s Victoria Bieneck and Isabel Schneider.

The temporary partners are playing on their first tournament together and had only one training session in Brazil before they traveled to compete in Florida and now are set to compete in the gold medal match, which will be the first of her career in the Beach Major Series.

“It’s my first Beach Major Series final and I’m delighted,” Carol Horta said. “Moments like this show all the sacrifices we make are worth it. We had some tough moments in the semifinal, but we fought together and we made it. Taiana was a fantastic partner, she helped me a lot when I was having a hard time on the second set and I’m glad we regained our focus and made the right plays in end of the third set to close the match.”

Beach Volleyball Major Series on Twitter

Woohoo! Brazil, on to the next round! @BeachMajors @lima_tata @volei https://t.co/DeLwGA2f9m

The Brazilians have already played nine matches in Fort Lauderdale, having won eight of them – the only setback happened on their main draw debut against USA’ Summer Ross and Brooke Sweat.

Going from the country-quota to the gold medal match is not something new to Taiana, though, as the 33-year-old veteran did the same in 2010, in Klagenfurt, when playing with Vivian Cunha she sprinted from the country-quota to the final with ten straight wins before being defeated by fellow Brazilians Larissa Franca and Juliana Felisberta.

“It was a little different there, Vivian was my regular partner and we had a good momentum,” she recalled. “But to be honest, I feel I’m much better prepared for a final now, both physically and mentally. Of course we are both tired, but I know my role now is to make Carol as comfortable as possible as it will be her first final. She’s been playing really well and I think I’m doing job in the back court as well, so I’d say our individual skills are helping us to work together.”

Carol Horta and Taiana prevailed in the last points of the third set to book theirs places in the gold medal match

The second finalists will be know shortly as Brazil’s Barbara Seixas and Fernanda Berti and USA’s Brooke Sweat and Summer Ross will play in the second semifinal at the Red Bull Beach Arena. The bronze medal match starts at 2.30pm and the final is scheduled for 4pm.

If the Brazilians stand strong on their march to the gold medal, Bieneck and Schneider, who started their campaign in the qualification tournament, now turn their attentions to the bronze medal match, which would be the first for both players in the Beach Major Series.

“We’re frustrated to lose this close match, but that’s how it is,” Schneider said. “Now we focus on the bronze medal match and we’ll try to put all we have left on the court. It will be our ninth match here, but we will fight for it. If we can stabilize our reception and setting we’ll have a good chance.”

Beach Volleyball Major Series on Twitter

If you can't be here at #FTLMajor - you can watch all games live at our #BeachStream 📺🏐🇺🇸 https://t.co/WluNq81fW1 #hellosunny #GivesYouWings #wawa