Italians triumph in Reunion island

SAINT GILLES LES BAINES (sic), REUNION ISLAND: Reunion’s $10,000 tournament has cemented its success in recent years by attracting a host of top international players, and its most recent edition saw almost a hundred men’s and women’s pairs from 11 nations compete on the extraordinary beaches of Saint Gilles Les Bains on 18-20 March.

In the women’s event, the No. 2 seeds Eva D’Elia and Giulia Gasparri defeated last year’s champions, home favourites Mathilde and Marie Eve Hoarau, 75 61 for a place in the final, where they would face world No. 1 team Maraike Biglmaier and Patricia Diaz, who had not lost a match on the Tour since August 2015.

On this occasion, the Italian pair proved too strong a team and won in straight sets 64 63 to lift the title without having dropped a single set.

Their countrymen, Luca Cramarossa and Matteo Marighella, followed suit and made it through the draw in impressive style. They lost just 12 games in their first four rounds before taking on the fourth-seeded team, Ivan Syrov, of Russia, and Frenchman Regis Courtois, in Sunday’s final.

Earlier on that Sunday, Courtois and Syrov had stunned the No. 2 seeds (formed by world No. 1 Michele Cappelletti and Tommaso Giovannini) in the semifinal with a 63 63 victory to present themselves as real challengers for the title. However, Cramarossa and Marighella were in great form and achieved an impressive 61 61 victory.

The tournament also showcased other events such as mixed, singles and juniors and attracted a good number of fans. Those who were on-site enjoying the matches can share their photographs and comments via the official ITF Beach Tennis social media accounts.