Alix Collombon and Lorena Rufo brilliantly won 6/4 6/2 tonight against Ana Catarina Nogueira and Bea Caldera. A controlled match with the appearance of revenge after their defeat against the same pair, last week in Finland, in three sets.
After a break obtained from the start by Collombon and Rufo, Caldera and Nogueira had come back behind, equalizing 3/3. But the 7th game immediately returned to the French and the Spaniard, resuming the opposing service immediately to lead 4/3, before confirming the break.
Like in Tampere?
At 5/4, although trailing 0-30 on Alix's serve, Collombon and Rufo hold the shock and win the first set 6/4. Last week in Tampere, they won 6-2 against the same opponents, before being caught.
The first break of the second set is in favor of Alix and Lorena, more conquering than their opponents. But the conceded break is immediately canceled by Nogueira and Caldera, who equalize 2/2. All the games are fierce and in the process, Collombon and Rufo resume the opposing service. They stay in front at 3/2, before confirming 4/2. It's starting to smell good on the Chatrier court.
Crack Caldera
The Franco-Spanish pair further increases their pressure, often cracking the young Beatriz Caldera. Playing very fair, Alix and Lorena make a new break: 5/2, service to follow.
The last game had its share of cold sweats, with a lob from 12 meters from Rufo which hit the camera overlooking the stadium, allowing the Spanish-Portuguese pair to return to 30A. The first match point is missed on a misunderstanding, but the second is good for Collombon and Rufo. They win 6/4 6/2, to the cheers of the public. A convincing victory, acquired with style.
A Frenchwoman is therefore in the quarter-finals of the Greenweez Paris Major, to the delight of the French public. She and Lorena Rufo will find tomorrow Alejandra Salazar and Sofia Araujo, who suffered to dominate Jensen and Virseda, 7/5 to 3e set, after more than 2h30 of fighting.
Alix Collombon will therefore play his 3rd quarter-final of the season, WPT circuits and Premier Padel confused. She has never reached this milestone until now.
After 40 years of tennis, Jérôme fell into the padel pot in 2018. Since then, he thinks about it every morning while shaving… but never shaves with a pala in hand! A journalist in Alsace, his only ambition is to share his passion with you, whether you speak French, Italian, Spanish or English.