Richard Gasquet and Dominic Thiem in the final of Playa Luanco, an exhibition tournament on sand

Not far from the clay courts of Estoril (Portugal), where they last met on the professional circuit last year, Richard Gasquet and Dominic Thiem will meet again on the court. The two former top 10 players will face off in the final of the exhibition tournament in Playa Luanco, Asturias (Spain).

Although they've already faced each other six times in official matches, Gasquet and Thiem have certainly never played a ball together on a sand court. This will be a first for the two men this Thursday, as they will battle it out for this honorary title starting at 9:15 p.m. And for good reason, the matches are played on the beach, so you have to wait until low tide.

Nearly 2,500 tennis fans and intrigued spectators gather in the stilted stands every day. This year, in addition to the two finalists, Frenchman Benoit Paire took part in the tournament , which has previously attracted Spanish tennis stars such as Juan Carlos Ferrero, Fernando Verdasco and David Ferrer.

It remains to be seen who will succeed Diego Schwartzman, who won his first tournament last year. There will be at least some stakes, as Gasquet and Thiem have shared a record of three wins each in their ATP Tour encounters.