Having rediscovered the taste of victory on the circuit  Premier Padel ,  Alix Collombon  will now face one of the strongest duos in the draw. This Thursday, starting at 10 a.m. on Court 6, the Frenchwoman and her partner  Ksenia Sharifova  will face the No. 5 seed, composed of  Tamara Icardo  et  Claudia jensen , with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.

The challenge is on a completely different scale than that of the first round. Facing Lucia Peralta and Maria Ferreyra, Collombon and Sharifova delivered a very clean performance to win 6-3, 6-2 and end a difficult run for the French number 1 on the circuit. Premier Padel.

Icardo and Jensen arrive with confidence

Opposite,  Tamara Icardo  et  Claudia jensen  They are moving forward with confidence. The Spanish-Argentine pair is on a very good run with two consecutive quarter-final appearances at the  Buenos Aires P1  and  Asunción P2 , as well as a semi-final at  Brussels P2 .

In Rome, they got their tournament off to a perfect start by dominating Sofia Saiz and Marta Talaván 6-2, 6-2. In a  Major where the points to be distributed are even more important, their objective is clear: to reach at least the quarter-finals.

Their status as top seeds and their consistency over the last few weeks logically make them the favorites for this match.

An opportunity for Collombon to seize

However, the Franco-Russian pair has arguments to make. Since their partnership,  Collombon and Sharifova  display an interesting dynamic with two consecutive finals in  FIP Silver  and a level of play that is clearly improving.

Sharifova's offensive contribution allows the Frenchwoman to play in a style that suits her better, while Collombon seems to be gradually regaining the confidence she has lacked for several months.

The first round played in Rome confirmed this trend. More aggressive, more solid in crucial moments, and complementary in their game, the two players will have the opportunity to gauge their progress against one of the best pairs in the tournament.

The mission looks complicated, but certainly not impossible. By maintaining the level shown for several weeks,  Alix Collombon  et  Ksenia Sharifova  can hope to upset the hierarchy and try to create one of the surprises of these round of 16 matches. Italy Major .

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 !