Galan/Lebron had obtained first place in the ranking of World Padel Tour in Malmo in 2022. In 2023, in this semi-final of the WPT Malmo Open which was predicted to be explosive, the Spanish pair takes the scalp of the current world number 1s, Coello / Tapia, in 2 small sets 6 / 2 6 / 1
“But what should we do? »
These are Tapia's words to Coello at the end of the second set.
Incredible performance of Lebron / Galan against the world number ones, in less than an hour and ten minutes of play. It's a new final in this second part of the season against Stupa / Di Nenno. This is their 7th final in 2023 and the 2nd in a row after Menorca. It's also a 2nd consecutive victory for Lebron / Galan against Tapia / Coello.
Juan Lebron played a padel game that is less familiar to him: calm, patient, he played many return balls on a particularly slow court where it is difficult to attack.
A surprise to see Galan / Lebron at this level?
We are not going to hide, it certainly remains a little surprise to see Coello and Tapia beaten so clearly by Galan and Lebron. The long-awaited display did not really take place as the Galan / Lebron pair was strong throughout the match against Coello / Tapia, like this ball at 15/0 in Coello's last service game , a point that Tapia / Coello must win, but Lebron / Galan plays to perfection with a defense that is close to the stars.
Who said that these playing conditions disadvantaged Galan / Lebron? They responded to all those who believe that Galan / Lebron only know how to play in one style: attack.
Break at the start of both sets for Galan / Lebron who often took advantage of Coello's bad choices, especially in smash, as for example in this first game of the second set, with tactical errors that cost dearly in the end. Coello / Tapia did not take the measure of this particularly slow padel court.
A final sprint restarted
In this final sprint, Coello / Tapia seem to be a little in “the least”. And so, for the moment, nothing is yet written, let's remember, with Stupa / Di Nenno in the final and who still has this small possibility of obtaining first place in the world.
“For my elbow, I haven’t found the solution yet”
Galan : “We will end this year with finals and a few victories. It's a shame not to have been in contact with the best all year round. Malmö is a special place for us since we obtained our first place in the world there last year. And Juan played incredibly well especially considering he’s coming back from injury.”
Lebron : “The injury has passed. We have a team. We have Jorge Martinez who makes it easy. I'm fresh and I want more from not having played all year. I certainly have more energy than the others at the end of the year and tomorrow will be a superb final. For my elbow, I haven't found the solution yet. Will you need to have surgery? I don't know. Health will be paramount. I want to enjoy the moment.”
Note that many Internet users anticipated a victory for Lebron / Galan.
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.