Mariehamn, Finland, August 20, 2010 - The only team that can stop a Brazilian podium sweep at this year's PAF Open will be Chen Xue and Xi Zhang as the third-seeded Chinese pair won three elimination matches here Friday to advance to this week's SWATCH FIVB World Tour "final four" with three teams from the South American country.

Leading the Brazilian teams into Saturday's semi-final and medal matches at the US$380,000 PAF Open are top-seeded Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca, who clinched their fifth SWATCH FIVB World Tour championship in the last six seasons Wednesday with two match wins followed by triumphs on Thursday and Friday to extend their current winning streak to 39-straight victories.

Also advancing to Saturday's semi-finals for Brazil were second-seeded Maria Antonelli/Talita Antunes and sixth-seeded Vivian Cunha/Taiana Lima. While Antonelli and Talita have won four-straight matches this week like Juliana and Larissa, Vivian and Lima have posted an 8-1 record after posting a victory each day this week to advance to their second SWATCH FIVB World Tour "final four" this season.

With Brazil guaranteed two PAF Open medals, Xue and Zhang will be attempting spoil the Brazil podium sweep that has happened 18 times since the start of the women's SWATCH FIVB World Tour in 1992. With this week's event being the 214th women SWATCH stop, Brazil has now advanced three teams to an international Beach Volleyball "final four" 38 times.

The two-time winners of the PAF Open in 2007 and 2009, Juliana and Larissa captured the first semi-final berth Friday by posting a 19-21, 21-15 and 15-11 win in 61 minutes over fourth-seeded Jen Kessy and April Ross of the United States. It was the 18th SWATCH FIVB World Tour meeting between the two teams with Juliana and Larissa winning 14 times with a 6-1 mark this season.

Juliana and Larissa will be competing in their 60th SWATCH FIVB World Tour "final four" in 83 international starts together since forming their partnership in 2004. The Brazilians have won a record 36 FIVB gold medals with 65 podium placements and $2,069,550 in winnings. A PAF Open gold medal will extend Juliana and Larissa's winning streak to 41 to match the mark for a single-season set by Americans Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh at the end of the 2007 campaign.

May-Treanor and Walsh hold the FIVB record of consecutive wins at 69 as the Americans won 28-straight matches during the 2008 season that ended with a gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games. May-Treanor and Walsh also won 47-straight SWATCH matches during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. The men's mark is 25-straight wins set in 2009 by Germans Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann.

Antonelli and Talita, who placed 17th last week at the SWATCH stop in Kristiansand, Norway, advanced to their ninth semi-final this season and 20th overall in 26 FIVB events with a 27-25 and 22-20 win in 49 minutes over Vivian and Lima in the first SWATCH FIVB World Tour meeting between the two teams.

Vivian and Lima rebounded from their earlier defeat Friday to eliminate 29th-seeded Jana Kohler/Julia Sude of Germany 21-15, 19-21 and 15-9 in 48 minutes. Both teams had to play Country Quota matches Monday before earning Main Draw berths Tuesday with a pair of wins. The Germans won their first two matches Friday by ousting pairs from Belgium and Georgia.

Xue and Chen, who were upset Thursday by Vivian and Lima, opened play Friday with victories over teams from Germany and Switzerland before advancing to their third-straight SWATCH FIVB World Tour "final four" with a 21-14 and 21-15 win in 36 minutes over Kessy and Ross. Xue and Chen have lost the last two FIVB gold medal matches to Juliana and Larissa in Poland and Norway as the Chinese pair captured their first SWATCH title this past June in Moscow where they defeated Kessy and Ross in the finale.

PAF Open competition continues through the weekend with the women's "final four" matches Saturday followed by the men's semi-finals and podium placement matches Sunday on the Hotel Arkipelag centre court. The winning teams in each gender will split the $30,000 first-place prize in the 11th of 12 double gender events on the 2010 SWATCH FIVB World Tour calendar.