British no.1 Aimee Gibson heaped praise on her coach Alex Grilo after sealing back-to-back FIP titles in Crete last weekend.
Just a week on from lifting the FIP Silver Reap Hong Kong trophy alongside Alba Perez Momha, Aimee teamed up with the Spaniard again at FIP Bronze Lyttos III to make it two wins in succession in some style.
Going in as top seeds, Aimee and Alba had a first round bye, before overcoming Dutch pair Liza Groenveld and Tess de Vocht 6-3, 6-3, then third-seeded Spaniards Patricia Araus Lopez and Carla Fito Fernandez in the semi-finals, 6-4, 6-2.
Facing second seeds Monica Gomez Rivas and Claudia Escacena Montero, the world no.75 and world junior no.4 respectively, Aimee and Alba won the final 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 (full results here).
“I’m over the moon…”
“I’m over the moon to win back-to-back FIPs with Alba,” Aimee told The Padel Paper. “I can’t really believe it.
“We played a really good tournament with some tough matches along the way. We were able to play a really high level in the final even though it went to three sets. In the third set we played a little bit better than them and took a few more risks.”
Aimee and Alba next head to a FIP Bronze in Bahrain aiming for a title hat-trick, before the left-handed Brit teams up with GB no.2 Catherine Rose at the inaugural LTA Padel National Championships in Bristol from 4-7 December. They then fly to Australia after Christmas to defend their titles in Melbourne and Sydney.
“I am so happy with the progress I’ve made in the last few months. Credit to Alex, my coach at Rocks Lane in London,” said the world no.84.
“We don’t get to spend much time together and yet he’s able to help me when I’m back in the UK, even if it’s just for a couple of days in between tournaments. That’s really been helping my game improve.”
Aimee has been working with Alex Grilo at Rocks Lane since February. This year has seen Aimee surge into the world’s top 100, reach seven career FIP tour titles and play a key role in Great Britain’s qualification for the FIP Euro Padel Cup Final 8.
Elsewhere, this week Catherine Rose and Tia Norton reached the semi-finals at FIP Bronze Qatar Doha II where they were defeated 6-4, 6-1 by Dutch pair Rosalie van der Hoek and Marcela Koek.
