Arthur Hugounenq and Jérémy Robert have passed  very close to pulling off a very big deal  in the first round of  FIP Gold Ponta Delgada in Portugal. Opposed to the  seed n ° 2 , Alejandro Ruiz and Juanlu Esbrí, respectively  24th and 26th in the world The French team delivered a very solid performance despite a defeat in two sets:  7/6(8) 6/4 .

 A first set that could have changed 

The start of the match was particularly close, and the two French players quickly showed that they were capable of competing with a pair from the  world top 30 .

À  5/4 in the first set Hugounenq and Robert make the break and find themselves  just two points away from winning the round  with an advantage  30-0  on their serve. A golden opportunity to take a set against one of the strongest pairs in the draw.

But in these key moments,  the experience of Alejandro Ruiz and Juanlu Esbrí makes the difference The Spanish break back and manage to get back into the set.

The French, however, remain strong and push their opponents to the brink.  tie-breaker It was a hard-fought match. In this intense tiebreaker, they finally succumbed.  10-8 , at the end of a huge battle.

 A great resistance right to the end 

Far from letting up after losing the first set, Hugounenq and Robert continued to pose problems for the Spanish pair. They remained in contention throughout the second set and  still make their opponents doubt .

But once again, in the crucial moments, the number 2 seed manages to make the difference and ultimately prevails.  6/4  to conclude the meeting.

 Many positives despite the defeat 

Even if victory is not achieved,  The performance of the French remains very encouraging. . They managed to  disrupt a reference pair of the circuit , winner of, among other things, the  FIP Platinum Lyon last year and were  just two points away from winning the first set .

This type of encounter also shows  the gap that sometimes separates players on the FIP circuit from pairs established at the highest level  Often, everything hinges on a few details in key moments.

 Next events 

Arthur Hugounenq will be back  in two weeks at the FIP Silver Parma where he will compete in  qualifications alongside Alexis Coulombeau .

For its part,  Jeremy Robert  will continue with the  FIP Bronze from Kaunas in Lithuania , where it will be associated with  Johan Bergeron .

One thing is certain: with this type of performance against players from the  world top The French are showing that they have the level to  to team up with highly ranked pairs on the international circuit .

Benjamin Dupouy

I discovered padel directly during a tournament, and frankly, I didn't really like it at first. But the second time, it was love at first sight, and since then, I haven't missed a single match. I'm even ready to stay up until 3am to watch a final of Premier Padel !

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