site.btaMehandzhiyski/Kalchev Stun Top Seeds to Reach Semifinals at Beach Pro Tour in Sveti Vlas

Bulgaria's Dimitar Mehandzhiyski and Dimitar Kalchev pulled off a stunning upset by defeating top-seeded Slovaks Lubos Nemec and Adrian Petruf in straight sets, 2-0 (21-12, 21-13) on Saturday, to advance to the semifinals of the Beach Pro Tour Futures tournament in Sveti Vlas.

Earlier on Saturday, the Bulgarian duo had already made history by becoming the first home team to reach the quarterfinals of a Beach Pro Tour event. With this dominant victory in the final match of the day, they took another historic step by booking their spot in Sunday's semifinals.

Mehandzhiyski and Kalchev showcased intelligent, precise play, overwhelming their opponents with well-placed and elegant shots that left no doubt about their superiority.

"We did not expect to win so convincingly, considering they are the top seeds and have a solid record of international success," said Mehandzhiyski after the match. "Fortunately, we managed to play even better than we did in our previous games. We raised our level and earned this win."

"For the second time today, the crowd gave us incredible energy with their support," added Kalchev. "This is a huge win! Honestly, we came here just hoping to get out of the group stage and maybe snatch a victory. A semifinal was not something we expected, but that is what we train and fight for, and I think we fully deserve it."

The men's semifinals will take place on Sunday at Venid Beach, near Marina Dinevi. Mehandzhiyski and Kalchev will face Serbia's 9th-seeded Djordje Klasnic and Marko Makaric, who defeated reigning U21 world champions Jope van Langendonck and Kyan Vercauteren of Belgium - the same team that beat the Bulgarians in Friday's Group D final.

The other men's semifinal will feature the tournament's second and third seeds: Italians Tiziano Andreatta and Davide Benzi vs. Austrians Laurenc Grossig and Mathias Seiser.

Sunday's programme kicks off with the women's semifinals, featuring top seeds Valentyna Davidova and Anhelina Khmil of Ukraine against Germany's qualifiers Sarah Schulz and Josephine Shakel. In the second semifinal, Ukraine's 6th-seeded pair Eva Serdyuk and Darya Romanyuk will face Spanish qualifiers Sofia Isuskiza and Ana Vergara.

BTA and Nova Sport are media partners of the event.

Organized under the auspices of Volleyball World, CEV and the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation, the event is organized by Dinevi Group and Nu Boyana Film Studios, with support from Masterhaus, Moto-Pfohe, Flair, SAMSUNG, NUII, Aspall, FilmForge, White Water, the municipalities of Nessebar, Burgas and Byala, and Marina Dinevi.