Jimenez and Arroyo make their debut in Porto, challenge awaits against Zapata-Cepero

A new partnership tops the entry list for the FIP Silver Mimosa Open in Porto, Portugal, where 32 pairs will compete in both the men’s and women’s main draws from Friday. José Jimenez and Alex Arroyo will make their debut as a pair just over a week before the P1 event in Pretoria. The world No. 33 and No. 27 in the FIP Ranking will begin their campaign against Portugal’s Da Costa/Ferreira, with a potential quarter-final against Ramiro Pereyra and Juan Zamora (5), followed by a possible semi-final against Diego Garcia and Octavio Alvarez (4). Their parallel challenge comes from another newly formed partnership, with Alvaro Cepero and Teo Zapata leading the bottom half of the draw. They too will open against a Portuguese pair, Meireles/Simões, with a possible quarter-final against Pedro Graça and Pedro Araujo (7), followed by a potential semi-final against Dylan Guichard and Clement Geens (3).

 

In the women’s draw, Leti Manquillo and Noemi Aguilar arrive in strong form after winning two CUPRA FIP Tour titles in July, including one last week. Seeded second, they sit behind Virginia Riera and Teresa Navarro, who have already claimed three titles on the circuit this year. Lea Godallier and Daiara Valenzuela (4), who have been playing together for just two months, have already won two titles as a partnership. Also among the tournament’s top seeds are Lucia Martinez and Marta Arellano (4), along with Portugal’s Ana Nogueira and Camila Fassio (5).