You sound like the former titan Oliver Kahn after the last-minute championship in 2001 with FC Bayern. The best German beach volleyball duo Cinja Tillmann and Svenja Müller could very well adopt the “Further, ever further” saying of the former national soccer goalkeeper (56). No matter how things are in the match, no matter whether the 34-year-old Tillmann and her ten-year-younger Sand partner are ahead or behind – things go on and on for them. Until the end – and that was mostly a good one this season.
“Our strength is definitely to always fight until the end,” says Tillmann. “We’ve had sets this year where we were really far behind, but we still kept going. I think that’s a great strength of ours and that’s what sets us apart.”
Tillmann/Müller don’t want to know anything about being favorites
The people of Hamburg have come a long way with their strength. So much so that they are at least considered co-favorites for the World Cup in Adelaide, Australia, which begins on Thursday. With their final victory at the elite tournament of the Beach Pro Tour in Cape Town at the end of October, they moved into the inner circle of title contenders.
The currently most successful German duo doesn’t want to know anything about the status. “We never go to a tournament with the clear goal of winning a gold medal; the level of performance among the world’s best is far too high for that,” said Tillmann in a portrait on the homepage of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB). There are no clear favorites before this World Cup either. “It’s all about nuances to be at the top of the podium.”
Most successful season
Their approach sounds unspectacular, they both admit. In Cape Town they always tried to “play the next ball, which seems to be our boring motto. But I think we succeeded particularly well there,” said Tillmann.
Even before the World Cup, which runs until November 23rd, she and Müller can look back on their most successful season to date. On the Beach Pro Tour, in addition to winning in South Africa, they also made it to the final in Montreal. They also reached the semi-finals twice.
It’s the mixture that counts
Tillmann, who was born in Senden, Münsterland, and Müller, who comes from Dortmund, were not able to successfully defend their European Championship title this year, but they still secured third place in Düsseldorf. The two also became German champions for the fourth time in a row.
Since coming together in 2021, Tillmann and Müller have continued to develop. It’s the mix that counts: on the one hand the experienced Tillmann, on the other the highly gifted Müller. Tillmann is considered one of the best setters and defenders in the world, Müller has long been world-class as a blocker and attacker.
Tillmann and Müller showed the potential of the combination in 2022 with a surprising third place at the World Championships in Rome. At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, they narrowly failed in the round of 16, but later consoled themselves with the European Championship title.
German duel in the preliminary round
Despite their success, the two are not loudspeakers in beach volleyball, but rather seem reserved. Nevertheless, they are currently the model couple that is being watched in German beach volleyball.
In Adelaide they lead a German women’s team of four duos. In addition to Tillmann/Müller are Louisa Lippmann/Linda Bock, Sandra Ittlinger/Anna Grüne – third in Cape Town after all – and Lea Kunst/Melanie Paul. In the preliminary round there will be a duel against Lippmann/Bock, who also train in Hamburg.
Head national coach: “A medal would be great”
“That is of course suboptimal, especially since it probably affects the two teams with the best prospects for Germany,” said head national coach Christoph Dieckmann after the draw in October. Nevertheless, he was confident about the group of four: “Both duos have a good chance of progressing.” A total of 48 women’s and men’s teams will play at the World Cup as the highlight and conclusion of the season.
The German men are represented by Clemens Wickler/Nils Ehlers, the German champions Lukas Pfretzschner and Sven Winter as well as Paul Henning and Lui Wüst. “A medal would be great – any placement in the top 8 would be a very good result,” said head national coach Dieckmann about the goals for the seven German pairs.