When China won 10 straight points against Cuba in the first set, it looked like a mismatch. When they won the first two sets, victory looked to be a formality. But then the wheels fell off China's World Grand Prix challenge and they crumbled to a 3-2 defeat in the opening match of the six-team, 15-game tournament. After winning the first two sets 25-10, 25-20, China allowed Cuba to find their attacking rhythm in the third set and struggled for motivation from that point on. Cuba took the third 25-19 and the fourth 25-20 to set up a decider and they prevailed 15-13 on their first match point when Rosir Calderon - daughter of head coach Luis Felipe Calderon - put a two-handed block on the attempted left-wing spike of Chu Jinling. From looking certain victors, China had slipped to a defeat that could spell the end of their chances of winning the title. In the day's other games, Brazil held off the Netherlands 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-14) and Italy had a surprisingly easy 3-0 win over Japan, 25-12, 25-21, 25-14.