Mélissa Martin and her Portuguese partner Bruna Melo lost narrowly in the final of the FIP Rise of Al Alamein in Egypt, against the Anglo-Dutch pair, seeded n°1 of the tournament, Norton/Van De Hoeck.

Despite their defeat, this performance remains very encouraging, although a little frustrating when you know that the pair Martin / Melo led 5/3 in the last set.

The final score is 4/6, 6/3, 5/7.

The Frenchwoman looks back on this Egyptian adventure, evoking both the negative and positive points:

“Above all, congratulations to the organizers for offering us a FIP Tour event in exceptional conditions, facing the sea in the middle of the desert. Obviously, despite the loss in the final and the particular conditions with the wind and the sand swirling on the track, it will remain a memorable memory.

For me, it's the first part of the season that is coming to an end, and it feels good. Being injured, these two weeks of rest will be very much appreciated, especially since I was not completely calm before embarking for Egypt. Finally, we reached the final and we fought until the end.

Certainly, the FIP and more generally the organizers of the FIP Tour have work to improve the organization. But in this tournament, in the middle of the desert, the change of scenery was total, and that was rather a good thing. There were even window cleaners at each change of side to remove the sand, ball boys, and we were accommodated in a magnificent and magical hotel at a very special rate.

melissa martin melo fip rise egypt

There is a real desire in Egypt to develop padel. This is particularly the case in Al Alamein, a new city under construction like Dubai a few years ago.

So it was all an adventure! And a huge mental work in every game, which is the positive point.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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