Melilla, Day2. Virseda takes to the court to defend her place in the Finals. Quarter-finals and semi-finals today

Veronica Virseda made a winning start at the FIP Gold in Melilla. Partnering Martina Fassio, the world number 16 in the FIP Race secured a place in the quarter-finals with a 6-1 6-0 victory over Moroccan pair Aoulad/El Houari. The Spaniard, who has already won the FIP Gold Mediolanum Padel Cup in Perugia, had a lead of just 65 points over Aranzazu Osoro at the start of the week. Collecting points on the CUPRA FIP Tour is therefore crucial if she is to secure a place at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona. Today, Virseda/Fassio will face Carla Fernandez and Nerea Guerra in the quarter-finals, with a potential semi-final to follow. It will be a decisive day, with the finalists set to be determined in both the women’s and men’s draws. In the bottom half of the women’s draw, Raquel Eugenio, partnering Bea Caldera (2), won the family derby against her twin sister Marta. In the quarter-finals, Eugenio/Caldera will take on Raquel Piltcher and Christina Ntanou.

 

All the leading contenders have also progressed in the men’s draw. Number 1 seeds Juan Tello and Maxi Arce beat Tiron/Basso 6-4 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals, where they will face Garcia/Fuertes (9). Number 2 seeds Edu Alonso and Aimar Goñi also won, defeating Rodriguez/Esposito 6-3 6-1. They will meet Lasgoity/Guy De Chamisso in the quarter-finals, the only unseeded pair to reach this stage. The other quarter-finals, which will determine the semi-finalists, are Ruiz/Garcia (4) against Calleja/Romera (7), and Bergamini/Bautista (3) against Aliaga/Dorta (8). All matches today, as will be the case on Saturday for the finals, will be streamed live on the FIP YouTube channel.