GB men’s No.1 Christian Medina Murphy boosted his bid to reach the world’s top 100 this season with victory at FIP RISE Cairo alongside Spanish partner Bera Vera Lopez on Sunday.
Alicante-based Murphy, currently ranked 132, and partner Lopez came through a cracking final against top-seeded French pair Maxime Moreau and Johan Bergeron to triumph 7-5, 4-6, 7-6. It was the British player’s first tour title since FIP Promotion Elche last July.
Watch the FIP RISE Cairo final below
The victory – Murphy’s first at FIP RISE level (the fourth of five tiers on the professional circuit) – confirms that he is back to his best after having a meniscus operation late last year which saw him miss almost three months of competitive action.
“I’m really happy, for me this title is so important,” said Murphy. “I had surgery in November and recovery has been difficult and you never know if you’re going to feel the same. I trained so hard over these months so to win this title gives me a lot of motivation and it’s really good for me.
“It was a tough match in the semi-finals and the final, coming back from 3-0 down in the deciding set. Our mentality was really important – I wasn’t feeling great, it was windy, and the conditions were very slow but we found a way to win.
“Now I want to keep pushing and to do well at the next tournaments coming up.”
Murphy and Lopez are focusing principally on the Premier Padel events this season where more points are on offer, even if their chances of progressing deep into the draw are obviously reduced by the higher standard of opponents. In their last outing on the FIP tour’s elite level, at the Premier Padel P2 in Puerto Cabello, they reached the third round of qualifying.
GB women’s No.1 Tia Norton was also in action in Cairo, making the quarter-finals with Netherlands’ Jannine Hemmes where they lost to second seeds Martina Fassio Goyenche and Camila Fassio Goyenche 6-3, 6-2.
There was more British success elsewhere on the tour last weekend as GB No.2 Catherine Rose reached the semi-finals of the FIP Promotion Betsson Sweden III in Gothenburg.
Having progressed through their two previous rounds in straight sets, Rose and partner Kotomi Ozawa of Japan came up against top seeds Liza Gorenveld and Rosalie van der Hoek of the Netherlands. Despite taking the first set, they slipped to a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat.
