British No.1s Tia Norton and Christian Medina Murphy lifted FIP trophies in different continents and very different conditions at the weekend.
Tia, partnering Dutch WTA Tour tennis pro Rosalie van der Hoek, began the FIP Rise Al Alamein tournament in Egypt as top seeds.
After a routine 6-0 6-3 victory over an Egyptian pair in the semi-final, the final was a very different story. Up against Portugal’s Bruna Albuquerque Melo and Melissa Martin of France, the match turned into a lengthy three-set battle played in a sandstorm.
Tia and Rosalie eventually came through as 7-5 3-6 7-5 victors and celebrated amidst a flurry of ticker tape on the beach in a howling wind! The self-styled ‘Girls from 1010’ (their hotel room number) collected 25 points which will do Tia’s ambition of reaching the world’s top 100 no harm at all.
Her next assignment is this week’s FIP RISE HOP London Padel Open, where she will once again partner with Rosalie. They have drawn top seeds Marcella Koek and Stephanie Weterings of the Netherlands in the second round, having received a first-round bye.
Meanwhile, last weekend in Spain, men’s British No.1 Christian went into the FIP Promotion Elche event as top seed alongside Spaniard Alberto Garcia Jimenez, the world No.248.
Playing under a roof in searing conditions, they cruised through to the final without dropping a set – their only inconvenience being taken to a second-set tiebreak by Alejandro Prados and Nacho Moragues Molto in the semis.
In the final they faced second seeds Guillem Figuerola Santiago and Gerard Arnaldos Serranos and came through a very tough battle, winning a nail-biting third set on a tiebreak.
Fellow Brit Louie Harris, playing alongside Spain’s Miguel Martin Cano, bowed out in the quarter-finals in three sets.
