It was another victory for the Americans in the Red Bull Beach Arena

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Veteran Jake Gibb had six blocks against the Brazilians

How about this for a result! Jake Gibb and Taylor Crabb were the first to win a match at the Red Bull Arena in the 2018 Fort Lauderdale Major - and the Americans are also probably now the team to have recorded the most impressive victory there so far after they took down world champions Evandro Goncalves and Andre Stein of Brazil down to lead Pool B.

The Americans’ 2-0 win (21-16, 21-17) was special for Gibb and Crabb as they were eliminated exactly by the Brazilians in the quarterfinals of the 2017 edition of the tournament.

“We definitely wanted a little revenge from last year,” Crabb said afterwards. “It was a really fun match, I love playing these guys. I thought we fought off their serves really well. They are a great serving team and that was the key for us in order to side out well. It feels good to come here and get first in our pool and I believe we can win it all. I think we have all the tools to go that far.”

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@JakeGibb @tcrabbs13 🇺🇸 speak with the media after their big win over Evandro/Andre 🇧🇷 in #FTLMajor Center Court to top Pool B! #BeachWorldTour https://t.co/1NDBVTy5w1

The 42-year-old Gibb was also excited with the triumph, but he added that despite of the automatic qualification to the Round of 16, where they will join other six teams who already assured their spots, the Americans still have a long way ahead in the #FTLMajor.

“It feels good,” he commented. “These guys are the world champions for a reason. They are so good, so big, so strong... It was a big one for us, but it’s just one of a lot more we need this tournament.”

With the defeat, Evandro and Andre, the silver medalists of the 2017 Fort Lauderdale Major, will have to play in the Round of 24 to keep alive in the tournament.

“Jake did a great job on blocking and that was the difference for them,” Evandro said. “They played well and we made a lot of mistakes on side out, which is not normal. But the tournament continues for us and we’ll try to make the adjustments we need.”

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