Women’s Day3. Spain, Argentina, Italy and the Netherlands finish top of their groups. Brazil beaten but through

• France, Sweden and Portugal also qualify for Thursday’s quarter-finals as group runners-up, alongside the Seleção.

FIP World Cup has delivered its first decisive results. With the group stage now complete, the draw for the women’s quarter-finals has been confirmed, featuring the world’s eight best national teams. They will return to court on Thursday for the following matches: Spain-Sweden, Netherlands-France, Argentina-Portugal and Italy-Brazil. The other eight teams will also be back in action, competing for positions 9–16.

All the leading contenders are through: reigning world champions Spain completed the first phase with three wins against Brazil, conceding just four games. Marta Ortega and Ari Sanchez won 6-1 6-1 against Piltcher/Giusti Gomes, Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernandez recorded a double 6-0 against Hossen/Acunha, while Andrea Ustero and Martina Calvo prevailed 6-2 6-0 against Cirne/Abbud. Brazil nevertheless celebrated qualification in second place, thanks to the match win-loss ratio, despite Great Britain‘s 3-0 victory over Germany in the other Group A tie. The wins for Nicholas/De La Mare, Rose/Gibson and Phillips/Tordoff secured third place in the group for Great Britain.

In Group B, Argentina won the head-to-head clash for first place, beating France 3-0. The victories came from Delfi Brea and Claudia Jensen (6-0 6-0 against Merah/Soubrie), Aranzazu Osoro and Martina Fassio (6-2 6-2 against Mansart/Pothier), and Virginia Riera and Julieta Bidahorria (6-1 6-1 against Godallier/Bahurel). Belgium finished third after beating Chile 3-0, with the first two wins secured by Pysson/Boeykens and Van Mol/Mestach, followed by Sermant/Vierendeels.

Italy also finished top of Group C with a perfect record, thanks to their 3-0 victory over Sweden. Giulia Dal Pozzo and Giorgia Marchetti won 6-0 6-0 against Borjeson/Andersson, Clarissa Aima and Giulia Sussarello prevailed 7-6 6-0 against Bjork/Behram, and Carolina Orsi and Martina Parmigiani completed the tie with a 6-1 6-4 win over Sjoland/Girdo. Indonesia finished third after winning their tie against Egypt 2-1, with victories for Putria/Kusuma and Sabatini/Rompies; Faidallah/Fathy secured Egypt‘s only point.

One of the most exciting ties of the day was the Group D clash between Portugal and the Netherlands, with top spot at stake. After Janine Hemmes and Tess de Vocht beat Nogueira/Batlle 4-6 6-3 6-4, Portugal levelled the tie through Sofia Araujo and Patri Ribeiro, who defeated Betz/Groenveld 6-4 6-4. In the decisive match, Marcella Koek and Bo Luttikhuis beat Silva/Santos 7-5 7-6 to secure first place for the Netherlands. The United States finished third with a 3-0 victory over Paraguay, courtesy of wins for Rodriguez/Beltramino, Dubins/Morga and Ruiz/Riobueno.

QUARTER-FINALS – POSITIONS 1–8
Spain (1A)-Sweden (2C)
Netherlands (1D)-France (2B)
Argentina (1B)-Portugal (2D)
Italy (1C)-Brazil (2A)

QUARTER-FINALS – POSITIONS 9–16
Great Britain (3A)-Egypt (4C)
United States (3D)-Chile (4B)
Belgium (3B)-Paraguay (4D)
Indonesia (3C)-Germany (4A)