Rio de Janeiro, August 7, 2016 – Number one seeds Larissa Franca and Talita Antunes of Brazil began their Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games campaign by beating Russia’s Ekaterina Birlova and Evgenia Ukolova 2-0 (21-14, 21-16) at the Copacabana Beach Arena on Sunday.
Here’s what they said after the match….
Talita Antunes, Brazil
“It was amazing. I’m so happy as it is a special moment to play an Olympics at home. I feel special.
“The first (match) is always tense because everyone has time to think about it. I think we played well and we have been training so hard for this moment and the Brazilian people have come to support us.
“Everyone talks about pressure and asks about pressure. It isn’t us who has to think about pressure, but I think that is the same for everybody.
“We have played against each other for many years and for me she is the best player in the world at the moment. I have the best player behind me on the court.”
Evgenia Ukolova, Russia
“It was a great atmosphere in the stadium, especially for the Brazilian girls because everybody was cheering for them.