Foreign duo claim opening round of Beach Tennis Tour
● Irigaray and Spoto come back from a set down
Best friends and star beach tennis players Theo Irigaray and Mattia Spoto came back from a set down to clinch the opening leg of the Kia Beach Summer Slam tournament at Kings Beach on Sunday.
Taking on 2018 Bay champion Gerard Rodriguez Querol and partner Manuel Ringlstetter, the French-Italian duo put on a dominant comeback display as they beat their opponents 5-7 6-4 6-3.
Plagued by persistent wind and sprinkles of rain earlier, the women’s final saw 2018 Summer Slam Beach Tennis Tour PE winner Mairé Bray and partner Nina Djordjevic come up trumps in a second-set tiebreak to claim a 6-2 7-6(3) win over Eludie Naegellen and Vanessa Ridolfo.
Spoto said he was satisfied with their performance, despite a setback in the first set.
“I am very happy for this win and [also] to be able to share this win with my friend, Theo,” he said.
Teammate Irigaray said: “I was very frustrated after that first set, because we had many occasions to win the set.
“Mattia told me before the second set we had to do this together because the match will be long and the only way to win this would be to win together.”
Both men agreed the win gave them confidence heading into the next round of the competition.
Bray, from Reunion Island, who claimed the title at the inaugural Bay leg, said: “The match was very tough, because I know my opponents very well, and they know me, so they know my strong and weak points, and I know theirs.”
Asked about how they coped with the wet and windy conditions, Serbian Djordjevic said: “It was really challenging. The wind made things quite tough.
“We had to make sure that we maximise our opportunities when playing with the wind.
“But at the same time, when playing into the wind, we had to make sure we don’t press too much and be patient.
“But I am so glad with what we did out there.”
The Beach Tennis Tour now heads to Cape St Francis and gets under way on Tuesday.