The top Canadian teams were all in action as the curtain-raiser for the group stage of the Elite16 Beach Pro Tour tournament on Thursday night at Parc Jean-Drapeau. However, the local favorites struggled to keep up with the pace set by their respective opponents, so fans were disappointed three times rather than once.

The best hopes of the evening rested on the shoulders of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson. The lively crowd greeted the Ontarians like heroines as they presented the final game of the day.

Under blue floodlights placed at the edge of the field and a clear sky in which the La Ronde fireworks were held not far away, all the elements were there for the evening to end precisely, in fireworks.

However, the Canadians faced Katja Stam and Raïsa Schoon. The Dutch are positioned in sixth place in the general classification. “That’s the kind of duel you get when you’re in the death squad,” Humana-Paredes said after a straight-set loss of 21-17, 22-20. A hard loss to accept, to a certain extent, because it was a close game all the way.

“It was exciting, competitive and dynamic,” Wilkerson commented after the game.

The start of the match had been wild, indeed. Attacks came from all directions. Although Wilkerson stood out with a huge block and a timely smash late in the set, two straight unforced errors from the Canadians and an ace from the opponent gave the Dutch the set.

“We are proud of the effort, but there are some things that will need to be fixed,” Wilkerson said.

In the second act, the visitors were flawless in defence, responding to all attacks from their rivals and thus denying any opportunity.

The favorites had to draw to stretch the set to its limit, but a final smash into the net by Humana-Paredes put an end to hostilities.

“They put a lot of pressure on the service. They didn’t miss many and they kept us on our toes. I don’t think we necessarily played badly and you know we’re on the same level,” Humana-Paredes explained as she wiped her legs to remove the sand stuck on her.

The Canadian pair had a long talk with their coach, crouched down to talk to their players, as the stands emptied.

They left the field to the sound of fireworks, even though in a way they would have liked them to ring out for them.

“It doesn’t change our mindset. It may just give us more motivation. We learn more in defeats and we know exactly what to work on from tomorrow. In fact, it will certainly help us to have played against an excellent team from the start, because we are already on the rhythm,” Humana-Paredes said.

Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson will get a chance to bounce back with two games on Friday.

Despite a hysterical crowd when they entered center court, Canadians Dan Dearing and Sam Schachter were defeated in straight sets by the German pair of Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler.

Signs reading ‘Damn Daniel’, ‘Daniel is our man’ and ‘God Dan’ stood out in the front rows, just behind the home favorites area at the start of the game.

However, the celebrations were short-lived for the 34th overall team. In front of them, hungry and imperturbable Germans. The men in yellow could read most of their rivals’ offensive threats with ease.

The ninth pair in the world also played up on serve. Despite bursting into life midway through the first inning, the Canadians let him slip away at 21-15.

However, the story was somewhat different when the activities resumed, even if the end was similar.

Dearing and Schachter took advantage of mistakes by their opponents to take a slim lead at halftime.

Missed serves, however, hurt Canadians. The Germans regained the lead thanks to a spectacular recovery from Wickler at 18-17.

At 20-20 Schachter missed his serve and on the next point Ehlers blocked a missile from Dearing at the net to go away with the win.

The task was colossal for the new Canadian duo formed by Sarah Pavan and Molly McBain.

In their first game of the tournament, they faced Americans Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss, third overall, and the local favorites lost in two sets.

Well established since the beginning of the season, the Americans quickly imposed their precise and incisive style of play. At the slightest misstep, they make their opponents pay. Nuss, incidentally, was exceptional in ball placement. Her teammate was just as effective in reception.

Nuss was the real star of the game, however. Despite being five-foot-six, she didn’t care for Pavan’s six-foot-six at the net. With pokey strokes, that touch performed with the tips of her fingers, she only had to send the ball over Pavan’s outstretched arms and that was it.

After a first set lost at 21-13, it was the same story in the second chapter. Nuss’ ball placement into touch, net, diagonal and downfield stunned the visibly helpless Canadians. The match ended with a set of 21 to 12 in favor of the Americans.