Chow and Marchezini secure biggest title yet at Sand Series Valinhos
Sophia Chow and Vitoria Marchezini claimed their biggest career title to date as they romped to victory at the inaugural Sand Series Valinhos.
The Brazilian duo did not drop a set all tournament, taking out compatriots Marcela Vita and Julia Nogueira, who scored a big quarter-final upset over top seeds Patricia Diaz and Rafaella Miiller,in the last four.
Flaminia Daina and Nicole Nobile were waiting for them in the final, they too having scored a significant upset (this time in the semi-finals) over second seeds Sofia Cimatti and Giulia Gasparri, who were on a 10-match winning streak at Sand Series level.
A tight opening set in the final saw Chow and Marchezini set for the opener at 5-3, but the experienced Italians broke back to force a tie-break. They held a set point at 6-5, but the Brazilians took the last three points to take the set, sending the partisan crowd into a frenzy, and cantered through the second set 6-1 to seal their triumph.
"It was incredible to play here in Valinhos," Marchenzini said. "I’d like to congratulate the whole organisation, it was a spectacular tournament.”
"The fans here were incredible," Chow added. "It was amazing to play here where I had many friends in attendance. I’d also like to thank Vitoria who was always there for me."
Meanwhile, Nikita Burmakin and Antomi Ramos won a topsy turvy men’s final against first-time partners Tommaso Giovannini and Maks Andersons.
There were plenty of upsets in the men’s draw, with top-ranked duo Nicolas Gianotti and Mattia Spoto suffering their earliest Sand Series exit of the season, falling in the second round to Hugo Cesar Dojas and Felipe Roman.
The Brazlians couldn’t back up the upset though, losing to Federico Galeazzi and Victor Amorim Gonzaga , who would progress to their second Sand Series semi-final of the season having also achieved the feat at the Brasilia Classic, scoring upsets against Ramon Guedez and Carlos Vigon on both occasions.
After squeezing through a predictable tricky second round match against Diego Bollettinari and Daniel Mola, Ramos and Burmakin took the opening set to love, before their opponents roared back to take the second 6-2. They were able to regroup for the match tie-break which they took 10-7, completing a Brazilian Sand Series sweep in 2023 for Burmakin, after titles in Ribeirão Preto and Brasília earlier this year.
The Sand Series Valinhos concludes the Series for 2023, which saw seven events take place offering a high number of ranking points and the highest prize money on the Tour.