Swiss beat Americans Hughes, Cheng in Olympic beach volleyball; German, Swedish men advance to semis

PARIS (AP) — Switzerland ousted Americans Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes from the beach volleyball tournament at the Paris Games on Tuesday night, ending the chances of bringing a fifth women's gold in the last six Olympics back to the sport's birthplace.

Nina Brunner and Tanja Hueberli won 21-18 and 21-19 to advance to the semifinals at the Eiffel Tower Stadium. The other American women's team, Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth, were eliminated in the round of 16 on Monday.

Top-ranked David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden jump-set their way into the semifinals earlier Tuesday, beating Evandro and Arthur of Brazil 21-17, 21-16. Germany beat the Netherlands in straight sets to reach the final four, where one win guarantees it a gold or silver medal, and even a loss would leave it with a chance for the bronze.

“We were quite nervous, but I screamed everything out, every ‘nervosity’ — is that a word?” said the 6-foot-11 German Nils Ehlers after he and Clemens Wickler won 22-20, 21-15. “I was very nervous, for sure. It’s amazing to play here in front of this crowd, and I’m so happy that we have the chance to play two times more.”

Only traditional beach volleyball powers Brazil and the United States, along with host France, placed the maximum allowed two teams in each of the men’s and women’s brackets. The Americans still have the men’s team of Andy Benesh and Miles Partain; they play Qatar, the Tokyo bronze medalists, in the second set of quarterfinals on Wednesday.

None of the French teams made it out of the group stage.

Brazil's loss means the sport’s spiritual home will not win a men’s medal for the second straight Olympics. The Brazilian men took gold in Rio de Janeiro and Athens and three other medals in between.

Ana Patricia and Duda play Latvia on Wednesday, hoping to avoid Brazil’s second shutout ever, and second in a row.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Sweden's David Ahman celebrates during the men's quarterfinal beach volleyball match between Brazil and Sweden at Eiffel Tower Stadium at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Brazil's Evandro Goncalves Oliveira Junior goes up for a shot against Sweden's Jonatan Hellvig in a quarterfinal beach volleyball match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Sweden's David Ahmad, left, and Jonatan Hellvig strike a celebratory pose after defeating Brazil in a quarterfinal beach volleyball match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Germany's Clemens Wickler serves in a quarterfinal beach volleyball match against the Netherlands at Eiffel Tower Stadium at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Brazil's Evandro Goncalves Oliveira Junior, left, and Arthur Diego Mariano Lanci react during the men's quarterfinal beach volleyball match between Brazil and Sweden at Eiffel Tower Stadium at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Netherland's Yorick de Groot goes low to make the save in a quarterfinal beach volleyball match against Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Brazil's Evandro Goncalves Oliveira Junior hits the ball during the men's quarterfinal beach volleyball match between Brazil and Sweden at Eiffel Tower Stadium at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Germany's Nils Ehlers celebrates during the men's quarterfinal beach volleyball match between Germany and Netherlands at Eiffel Tower Stadium at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Brazil's Evandro Goncalves Oliveira Junior jumps to hit the ball during the men's quarterfinal beach volleyball match between Brazil and Sweden at Eiffel Tower Stadium at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Sweden's David Ahmad, left, watches Jonatan Hellvig return a shot in a quarterfinal beach volleyball match against Brazil at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

United States' Kelly Cheng, left, and Sara Hughes walk off the court after losing to Switzerland in a quarterfinal beach volleyball match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Switzerland's Tanja Hueberli, left, and Nina Brunner react after defeating the United States in a quarterfinal beach volleyball match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are veering sharply in how they gear up for Tuesday’s presidential debate, setting up a showdown that reflects not just two separate visions for the country but two politicians who approach big moments very differently.

Harris spent the weekend cloistered in a historic hotel in downtown Pittsburgh where she focused on honing crisp two-minute answers, per the debate’s rules.

Meanwhile, Trump has publicly dismissed the value of studying for the debate. The former president is choosing instead to fill his days with campaign-related events.

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the latest:

When Donald Trump and Kamala Harris meet onstage Tuesday night in Philadelphia, they’ll both know there’s little debate that Pennsylvania is critical to their chances of winning the presidency.

The most populous presidential swing state has sided with the winner of the past two elections, each time by just tens of thousands of votes. Polling this year suggests Pennsylvania will be close once more in November.

A loss in the state will make it difficult to make up the electoral votes elsewhere to win the presidency. Trump and Harris have been frequent visitors in recent days — Harris plans to return Friday — and the former president was speaking in Butler County on July 14 when he was the target of an assassination attempt.

The stakes may be especially high for Harris: No Democrat has won the White House without Pennsylvania since 1948.

▶ Read more about Pennsylvania’s role in this election

From her earliest campaigns in California to her serving as President Joe Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris has honed an aggressive but calibrated approach to debates.

She tries to blend punch lines with details that build toward a broader narrative. She might shake her head to signal her disapproval while her opponent is speaking, counting on viewers to see her reaction on a split screen.

And she has a go-to tactic to pivot debates back in her favor: saying she’s glad to answer a question as she gathers her thoughts to explain an evolving position or defend a past one.

▶ Read more about Harris’ debate style

A new Harris campaign ad airing running on Fox News on the day of the presidential debate features former Trump officials warning of what they say are the dangers of a second Donald Trump presidency.

The ad is running in Philadelphia and West Palm Beach, Florida — where Trump lives — on Tuesday.

It features clips from former Vice President Mike Pence saying he would not be endorsing Trump. Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley all warn against the Republican.

The presidential debate begins at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday on ABC.

If you ask Trump’s previous debate opponents what they’re watching for on Tuesday night — and we did — many say the same thing: Look out for the thing he says or does that Harris can’t possibly prepare for.

Trump is the ultimate wild card who's found tremendous political success by ignoring the traditional rules of politics. He will say or do whatever he thinks is best in the moment. And Harris, who has dedicated several days to debate prep, can’t make a plan for everything.

At this point, it’s hard to imagine Trump surprising anyone with new material. He has praised dictators, talked about genitalia size, suggested suspending the U.S. Constitution and said that Harris only recently “turned Black.”

Trump’s own team doesn’t know what he’ll do or say on any given day. That’s incredibly risky for Trump. But it also puts enormous pressure on Harris.

Republicans hope Trump makes immigration a defining issue of the debate.

The GOP has effectively condemned the Biden administration’s handling of illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border for much of the last four years.

Harris will be eager to remind voters that Trump helped kill a bipartisan immigration bill that would have done much to fix the problem. But overall, Harris is likely to be on the defensive when the issue comes up.

Democrats, meanwhile, want to focus on abortion.

Trump, of course, appointed three Supreme Court justices who later overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that protected a woman’s right to choose abortion. Trump has repeatedly said he was proud that Roe was defeated. But aware that such a view isn’t popular among many women, he has tried to moderate his stance on the divisive issue.

Harris won’t make that easy. Stating the obvious, as a woman, she is positioned to be a much more effective messenger on the issue than Biden was. And Trump can’t afford to lose many more female voters.

There will, of course, be an obvious gender dynamic on stage Tuesday night.

The candidates — who have never met in person before — will be expected to stay behind their podiums on Tuesday night. But Republicans are hopeful Trump will avoid any other provocations like pointing, yelling or otherwise approaching Harris in a way that might be off-putting to suburban women or other swing voters.

Harris, too, will face unique challenges related to her race and gender as voters consider whether to make her the nation’s first female president. Some voters still say they’re not comfortable with the idea. If she comes across as angry, she risks playing into racist tropes about Black women.

While the gender dynamic looms, do not underestimate the significance of their age difference, either.

Harris is almost two decades younger than the 78-year-old Trump. Age was viewed as a political advantage for Trump when he was facing the 81-year-old Biden, but the situation is now reversed against the 59-year-old Harris. If he wins, Trump would be the oldest U.S. president ever elected.

FILE - Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., participates in the vice presidential debate with Vice President Mike Pence, Oct. 7, 2020, at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

FILE - Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Aug. 17, 2024, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

In this combination photo, Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks during a debate, Oct. 7, 2020, in Salt Lake City, left, and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a debate, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo)

The Latest: Harris and Trump are prepping for the debate but their strategies are vastly different

The Latest: Harris and Trump are prepping for the debate but their strategies are vastly different