Juicy storylines and no lack of intrigue emerged from the biggest ITF beach tennis tournament of 2020 so far as the stars of the circuit convened in South America for BT400 Santos.

In the first major event with the men’s net height at 180cm, top seeds Nikita Burmakin and Alessandro Calbucci thrived with the Russian-Italian axis proving too strong in the men’s doubles.

Venezuela’s Patricia Diaz and Rafaella Miiller of Brazil, who were the No. 2 seeds, triumphed in the women’s doubles, while Russian pair Liudmila Nikoian and Ivan Syrov prevailed in the mixed doubles.

The singles, meanwhile, proved a Brazilian masterclass as top seeds Hugo Cesar Dojas and Elaine Branco topped the podium in the men’s and women’s events respectively.

Those snippets may very well have been headline-making acts, although much drama played out as the competition reached its business end and ranking points and $35,000 worth of prize money were on the line.

In the men’s doubles final, for instance, Burmakin and Calbucci squeezed past Spanish duo Antonio Miguel Ramos Viera and Gerard Rodriguez Querol 3-6 6-1 [12-10] in a showdown determined by the new super tiebreak.

Both pairings squandered match points but ultimately Burmakin and Calbucci prevailed as Ramos Viera and Rodriguez Querol, who won gold at the ANOC World Beach Games in Doha in October, saw victory slip from their grasp.

Another compelling twist saw Alex Mingozzi, the Brazil captain who guided his nation to ITF Beach Tennis World Team Championship glory in Moscow in July 2019, defeated two of his starting players in the quarter-finals.

Mingozzi teamed up with fellow Brazilian Daniel Schmitt and dispatched No. 3 seeds Andre Baran and Vinicius Font to reach the last four, where they fell to Burmakin and Calbucci.

In the quarter-finals, Burmakin and Calbucci had accounted for another Brazilian pairing in the form of Miguel Peres Duque De Souza and Giovanni Cariani, who are aged 18 and 16 respectively.

The strength of Brazilian beach tennis can rarely be questioned, and the nation would appear to have nurtured another couple of gems in De Souza and Cariani as they defeated No. 6 seeds Mikael Alessi and Ramon Guedez in the quarter-finals.

There were also some interesting narratives penned by Brazilians in the women’s draw as No. 6 seeds Flavia Muniz and Marcela Vita overcame top seeds Sofia Cimatti and Giulia Gasparri of Italy in the quarter-finals.

There was a degree of Italian revenge, however, as Eva D’Elia and Flaminia Daina dispatched Muniz and Vita in the semi-finals before falling to Diaz and Miiller with the top of the podium in sight.

The other semi-final was contested by Diaz and Miiller and No. 8 seeds Nikoian and Greta Veinberga of Latvia, who by reaching the last four enjoyed a progressive tournament.