Italy, RTF and Spain start well at World Cup in rainy Copacabana
Three of the four top seeds at the ITF Beach Tennis World Cup started with convincing wins on a cold and wet opening day in Rio de Janeiro.
Under grey skies, Italy, Russian Tennis Federation and Spain sealed victories in the men’s doubles before going on to win their ties 3-0.
Spain lost just one game in the first two matches against Curacao as world No. 4 Antomi Ramos and Saulo Damaso completed a 6-0 6-1 win against Michiel Noordhoek and Nick Rosberg after Eva Fernandez and Sabrina Garcia had been faultless against Anne Rijks and Janice Kie. Gerard Querol and Ganesha Diaz sealed the whitewash against Rosberg and Rijks 7-5 6-0.
“It was a difficult day because of the weather, but the results were pretty good,” said Ramos, who is fresh from a triumph at the Sand Series in Gran Canaria. “This is not the Rio de Janeiro we usually know, but we hope the weather looks better as soon as possible.
“We have a good draw, we want to make a great result here and, who knows, gets a medal here. The sensations are pretty good, I won a very good tournament in Gran Canaria. We are confident, we have a good team.”
The other two nations in Group C are Portugal and Chile. The South American team defeated Portugal 2-1, clinching victory in the mixed doubles with Maria Orellana and Alexander Beller winning 6-2 6-7(2) [10-7] against Manuela Cunha and Henrique Freitas. Earlier, Orellana and Paola Basaure had double-bagelled Manuela Cunha and Catarina Alexandrino on Centre Court before Henrique Freitas and Pedro Maio drew Portugal level with a 6-1 6-4 win over Alexander Beller and Rolly Passig.
Russian Tennis Federation, champions in 2016, had a bit of trouble against Bulgaria in the men’s Doubles but Nikita Burmakin and Nikolay Gurev battled back in the first set to win 7-5 6-2 against Emil Argirov and Dimitar Simeonov. The women’s doubles saw a better performance by Daria Churakova and Liudmila Nikoian, completing a comfortable 6-1 6-0 victory over Diyana Miteva and Katina Simeonova. In the mixed doubles, Maxim Ionin and Ekaterina Kamenetckaya defeated Argirov and Miteva 6-2 6-0.
Burmakin, one half of the ITF World Champions in Terracina last month, missed his partner Sergey Kuptsov, who was unable to make the trip to Brazil due to health issues. "We had an unexpected change on the team, my usual partner couldn’t come,” explained Burmakin. “Our team has a new composition, we don’t know what to expect. We want to show some good level this week."
Russian Tennis Federation will next face Aruba and Puerto Rico in Group D. The Aruban team started with a good win, completing victory in the men’s doubles. Puerto Rico scored a consolation win in the mixed doubles with Beatriz Rivera and Luis Reyes overcoming Samardzic and Dominique Hopman 3-6 6-3 [10-2].
Top seed Italy started strongly in Group A with a 3-0 win against Ecuador with Sofia Cimatti and Giula Gasparri defeating Emilia Pons and Maria Quintana 6-1 6-4. Former No. 1 Marco Garavini and Matia Spotto controlled Danny Alvarez and Sebastian Quintana 6-3 6-0. In the mixed doubles, Cimatti and Marcco Faccini made a strong 6-0 6-0 win over Bryan Garcia and Maria Quintana.
France finished the first day pulling off a comeback against the Japanese team. Eri Homma and Erina Otsuka scored a 4-6 6-4 [10-7] triumph against Ana Bigot and Severina Bouchacourt. Then, world No. 7 Theo Irigaray and Nicolas Gianotti made a superb performance with a 6-1 6-1 victory over Maki Atsuka and Miyagi Ryota. Pauline Mannarino and Mathieu Guegano decided the tie with a 6-2 6-1 win over Homma and Ryota.
Hosts Brazil come out firing
In the final tie of the day, Brazil saw off Mexico with an easy win in the men's and women's doubles, sealing a 2-0 win in Copacabana.
Joana Cortez and Marcela Vita beat Valentina La Bergere and Jessica Cortes 6-1 6-0 and then Vinicius Font, the first non-Italian world No. 1 back in 2015, and Thales Santos beat Jonathan Banos and Luis Osante 6-1 6-1.
"Since beach tennis came to Brazil in 2008, playing at home in the ITF Beach Tennis World Cup after eight years in Russia is a dream come true," said Cortez. "We got ready and focused, we had a rainy day so we came earlier to practice and got ready. We didn't know about the Mexican team, but we managed to play with calm, keeping our strategy to have this victory."
Elsewhere in Group B, the German team started with a 2-1 victory over Venezuela. The key match was the women’s doubles as former No. 1 Maraike Biglmaier and Margarete Pelster beating Lady Correa and world No. 3 Patty Diaz 7-5 2-6 [10-4]. The Ringlstetter brothers Manuel and Benjamin beat Ramon Guedez and Carlos Vignon 6-3 6-4. Venezuela won the last match with Iosune Roncal and Eduardo Roncal overcoming Sophie Schmidt and Alexander Bailer 6-3 6-3.
On day two, Brazil play Venezuela at 7pm local. Italy will open Centre Court at 9am against Japan and then Russian Tennis Federation takes on Puerto Rico at 1.30pm.