Cappelletti-Ramos back to winning ways; Gasparri-Valentini extend run

Michele Cappelletti and Antomi Ramos got back to winning ways on Saturday with victory at the inaugural Sand Series Barcelona event.

The duo put back-to-back finals losses from BT400 Balneário Camboriú and Sand Series Gran Canaria behind them with victory at the CEM Vall d’Hebron, stringing together a stellar championship run without the loss of a set.

They were severely tested in the final however, having to come from a break down in the opening set to secure victory against Allan Oliveira and Thales Santos. The Brazilian duo were riding high after overcoming Nicolas Gianotti and Mattia Spoto in a titanic quarter-final that saw them overturn a set and a break deficit to triumph in an 11-9 match tie-break, snapping the pair’s 20-match winning streak in the process. Spoto will take solace from the weekend though as, on Monday, he clinched the world No. 1 ranking for the first time.

“We have played and lost a lot of finals recently, so this win is very special,” reflected Cappelletti.

The pair will now head to Brazil for three big weeks with upcoming BT400 tournaments in Valinhos and Uberlandia ahead of the Sand Series Brasilia Classic.

Meanwhile, Giulia Gasparri and Ninny Valentini made it two out of two in Spain this month as they notched their third victory in a row against Rafaella Miiller and Flaminia Daina.

The pair have been in formidable form of late and have not lost a match since their epic Reunion final encounter against Miiller and Patricia Diaz.

Miiller and Daina headed into the final having squeezed past Sophia Chow and Diaz in the quarter-finals before a routine win against the Brazilian pair of Vitoria Marchezini and Marcela Vita.

However they came up short in the final against the red-hot Gasparri and Valentini, who have now won 15 matches in a row.

After back-to-back Sand Series events, there will not be long to wait for another with the Sand Series Brasilia Classic getting underway in June.

The Sand Series is a series of major beach tennis events launched in 2021, offering amongst the highest prize money and ranking points on the ITF Beach Tennis World Tour.

Sand Series 2022

25 – 27 March               Réunion Classic

20 – 22 May                  Gran Canaria Classic

26 – 28 May                  Barcelona

16 – 18 June                  Brasília Classic

26 – 28 August             Saarlouis Classic

09 – 11 September      Viareggio