Gasparri-Valentini, Cappeletti-Ramos clinch Sand Series opener
World No. 1 pairings Giulia Gasparri-Ninny Valentini and Michele Cappelletti-Antomi Ramos underlined their credentials for the 2023 season by claiming the Sand Series Reunion Classic titles on Sunday.
Gasparri and Valentini had already survived back-to-back match tie breaks in their quarter-final and semi-final just to make the Championship match on the Plage Des Brisants, and they were going to have to do it all again on Sunday against long-time rivals Sofia Cimatti and Nicole Nobile.
Their opponents had also survived back-to-back match tie breaks on their way to the final, so another fiercely contested encounter was hardly a surprise.
Despite rolling through the first set to love, Gasparri-Valentini had their work cut out as they dropped the second 6-3.
They could be forgiven for reflecting on the heartbreak of last year’s final, which they lost in a match tie-break, with a championship point, despite also taking the opening set, but there was to be no repeat this year.
After being locked at 5-5, the Italian world champions broke away and took the match for the loss of just one more point.
It will be impressive for the pair to exceed their ten-title haul of last season but they have got off to the best possible start in winning the first Sand Series and their first tournament of the year.
“It was the first tournament of our season so we were a little nervous before the match,” Gasparri admitted.
The pair now heading to the Middle East for the BT200 Ras Al Khaimah followed by the inaugural BT400 Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile, Cappelletti and Ramos made it three in a row with an astonishing eighth Reunion title overall for Cappelletti and a fourth for Ramos.
The pair had to dig deep to reach Sunday’s men’s final, saving match point against Carlos Vigon and Ramon Guedez in the semi-final before wrapping up a straight sets win over Nicolas Gianotti and Mattia Spoto in a repeat of last year’s final.
“This court is magical,” said Ramos, who picked up ten titles last year, eight of which came alongside Cappelletti and included four of the five 2022 Sand Series events, with only his hometown Sand Series Gran Canaria Classic eluding him.