Lausanne, Switzerland, July 7, 2017 - Defending champions Brazil meet Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallists Serbia Saturday in Ankara with both teams coming off straight-set wins on the opening day Friday over Belgium and Turkey respectively. Those wins extended both Brazil's and Serbia's winning streaks, but something has to give when they come head-to-head for the sixth time in the history of the competition (with the South Americans leading the series 4-1.
Head-to-Head• Brazil have won four of their previous five World Grand Prix meetings with Serbia. They won 3-2 in 2012 and recorded straight set victories in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
• Serbia won their last encounter with Brazil, a 3-2 win in last year's competition. For Brazil, that was one of only two defeats in the World Grand Prix last year, alongside a 3-0 loss against China.
• For Serbia, that marked their first victory over Brazil in any of the major competitions.
Brazil• Brazil started their 2017 World Grand Prix season with a straight sets victory against Belgium.
• The defending World Grand Prix champions have now won their last eight matches in the competition.
• They have won five of their last six World Grand Prix matches in straight sets.
Serbia• Serbia started their 2017 World Grand Prix campaign with a straight sets victory against Turkey.
• Combined with last season, Serbia have now won five World Grand Prix matches in a row. This is their longest winning run in the competition since six in 2012-2013.
• Serbia have not started a World Grand Prix season with consecutive victories since 2013.