There was clearly an opportunity to be seized… but  Steffi Merah and Julie Razafindranaly  they finally stopped in the semi-finals of the  FIP Bronze Hong Kong , beaten by the Russian pair  Petrova / Kutuzova  on the score of  6 / 3 6 / 3 .

 A painting that opens… then closes 

The week had, however, started perfectly for the French women.

Solid from the outset, they had dominated  Fouquet / Zhai Yu  with authority ( 6 / 3 6 / 0 ), before pulling off a major upset in the quarter-final against the  Top seed Fernandez / Sluzhiteleva .

In this match, they had seized their opportunity:

  • first set won  6/2 
  • then a favorable scenario with the opponent's withdrawal at  5/3  in the second set, following a right leg injury on the favorite side

A qualification for the semi-finals clearly opened up the possibilities.

 A half within their reach on paper 

Facing  Petrova / Kutuzova , a pair ranked outside the world's top 250, the opportunity was real.

On paper, it was  the match not to be missed  to reach the final of this tournament.

But on the ground, the reality was different.

 More homogeneous opponents 

The Russians delivered a solid and consistent performance, gaining the upper hand in the important moments.

On their side,  Merah and Razafindranaly lacked consistency.  to reverse the trend.

Result: a defeat in two sets  6 / 3 6 / 3 without actually managing to turn the game around.

 A frustration… but a very good week 

Naturally, there is frustration given the context:

  • an open table
  • an affordable semi-final
  • A place in the final is within reach.

But the overall assessment remains largely positive.

 Seed 7 French women sign a  have a great week  with a semi-final berth at stake and  14 FIP points  important for the ranking.

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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