Beach tennis brought the heat with a 24-match salvo at the ANOC World Beach Games on Sunday, as the first rounds of both the men’s and women’s events producing some scintillating action to underline the high level of competition in both draws.

Nowhere was this more evident that in the showdown between No.2 seeds Luca Cramarossa and Tommaso Giovannini of Italy and the reigning European Champions, world No.1 Nikita Burmakin and Sergey Kuptsov, his long-time partner when representing Russia.

From the moment the draw was made, the clash had the makings of a classic and did not disappoint, Burmakin and Kuptsov battling back to oust the Italians 5-7 6-1 [10-8].

“We started nervous, with our shaking hands a little bit, because we knew this was the key match of the tournament – we are the ‘fifth seeds’ and they were No.2, and unfortunately we played in the first round,” said Burmakin, Kuptsov adding: “It was very tough.

“The first round is never easy to play, especially against two of the best players in the world, and of course, when you play for your country. I’m happy and I want to thank the best partner – it was an amazing match.”

The Russian duo made the perfect start to the match, moving out to a 3-0 lead before being pegged back by the Italians, who took the opener. But after a change to their lucky blue shirts after the first set they stayed fired up and surged to the second round, where they will face Brazil’s Marcus Ferreira and Thales Santos.

Burmakin and Kuptsov put their recovery down to the decision to arrive in Doha a week early to acclimatise to the conditions with the Russian team. “This was one of the most important keys,” Kuptsov insisted.

“As soon as it was announced, we got our calendar and made sure we would arrive in the best shape to play here,” Burmakin added. “We’ve prepared very well, because this event is amazing. It’s very special, because we get support from our compatriots from different disciplines, and we go to support them.

“We all dream about the Olympic Games, that our sport could enter the programme, and I hope the Olympic Committee will look at beach tennis now and see that it is really professional, a really beautiful sport, really emotional and spectacular. Hopefully we won’t be too old when it enters the programme!”

With just four seeded teams in the men’s and women’s draws, Cramarossa and Giovannini were the only seeds to lose in the opening round, with compatriots Alessandro Calbucci and Michele Cappelletti easing past Satoshi Goda and Naoaki Yamamoto 6-3 6-0, and both Italian teams advancing in the women’s draw.

Flaminia Daina and Nicole Nobile eased to a 6-1 6-1 victory against San Marino’s Markia Colonna and Alice Grandi, while top seeds Sofia Cimatti and Giulia Gasparri were pushed in the second set of their 6-2 7-5 win over Puerto Rico’s Claudia Lopez and Beatriz Rivera.

“We know that it would be difficult. It’s our first round here in Doha and it’s a very strong field,” Cimatti said. “It’s very hot also. We hope tomorrow to play later than today, but it’s okay – it’s part of the game.”

In the day’s opening match on Center Court, Brazilian duo Joana Cortez and Rafaella Miiller overcame a tricky start to their encounter with French duo Marie-Eve and Mathilde Hoarau to win 6-3 6-1 after a tactical switch in the sweltering heat.

“First round is always difficult, the conditions here are warm and the ball is very fast, so we didn’t start too good,” Miiller explained. “So we then played a lot down the middle and with the ball flying we tried to slow the points down and play softly. The first set we didn’t play so well but by the end we were playing much better. I always have a good feeling when I play with Jo.”

The match of the day in the women’s draw saw Lady Correa and Patricia Diaz of Venezuela snatch victory from Japanese duo Erina Otsuka and Aoi Shibayama 4-6 7-6 [10-7] having trailed for most of the match – and despite Diaz thinking the match was over at 9-7.

“When she gave me the hug, I knew that she thought it was finished,” Correa laughed. “And I told her no – it will finish on the next point, but let’s go again! I can explain the win with two words: patience and teamwork. We were losing the whole match, from the very beginning, but we kept talking, keeping good emotions between us, and at the end we got the result.”