Three hours and twelve minutes of play, at least eight match points saved, and an incredible display of consistency from both pairs. That was the battle between Araceli Martinez/Alix Collombon and Marta Marrero/Virginia Riera on the morning of Day 2 at the Miami P1, on the “Juan y Bela” court at the Miami Beach Convention Center. After two tight sets ending 6-34-6, the highlight was the final set: Martinez/Collombon stayed ahead up to 5-2, but the feeling was that the set remained wide open. And that was exactly the case—long, intense rallies, very few mistakes except under pressure, with a peak of over 20 minutes in the eighth game of the third set and at least eight match points saved by Marrero-Riera. In the end, after three hours and 12 minutes, a Martinez attack sealed the decisive 6-4: game, set, and match. Applause from the stands and sporting embraces between the exhausted players.
SAINZ AND LLAGUNO, SUCCESSFUL DEBUT In contrast, Lucia Sainz and Patty Llaguno—seeded No. 5 in the tournament—needed just one hour and 27 minutes to defeat Laura Lujan and Carla Mesa. The difference-maker was their serve, winning 71% of service points, along with an astonishing 100% of points won on their second serve. The favorites secured victory in the all-Spanish clash and moved on with a perfect 100% break point conversion rate in what was still a tightly contested match, as confirmed by the 6-3 7-6 final score.