Busy day this Friday in Madrid, with a Quarter-final schedule who kept all his promises and gave rise to some surprises.

Triay/Fernandez will challenge Sanchez/Josemaria

On the women's side, the first poster of the morning pitted the Triay/Fernandez pair against Osoro/Virseda. Veronica Virseda and the “Viking” Zazu Osoro (respectively 17e and 15e in the world ranking) would they manage to stop the mechanics of Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernandez, victorious in the previous round over Léa Godallier and Giorgia Marchetti? The answer was not long in coming. In about twenty minutes, the two Spaniards broke away 5 games to 0, before closing the set 6 2 after a surge from Osoro/Virseda. More efficient (43 winning shots against 20 in the end) and stubborn (7 break points converted out of 10, against 2 out of 7 for their opponents), Triay/Fernandez maintained their grip on the match, concluded 6-2 6-1. Triay/Fernandez will face tomorrow against the Sanchez/Josemaria pair, victorious after Ustero/Alonso de Villa retired.

Marta Ortega at the microphone of journalist Barbara Vitantonio Copyright Premier Padel

Hierarchy also respected at the bottom of the table

The hierarchy was also respected in the following match, which pitted Ortega/Araujo to Riera/Goenaga. Very lively and offensive, the Spanish-Portuguese pair won the first set 6-2 without forcing. More tight, the second set allowed Virginia Riera and Carmen Goenaga to show off, while committing a few unforced errors that would cost them the set – and therefore the match. Victorious 6-2 7-5, with 37 winning shots (against 28) and 5 break points won out of 9 obtained, Martita Ortega and Sofia Araujo have won the right to challenge Bea Gonzalez and Delfi Brea in the semi-final this Saturday.

The latter defeated their opponents after a part mastered. In this confrontation, Gonzalez and Brea were the first to draw, taking Alejandra Salazar's serve at 1 all. Despite a varied game that regularly saw Salazar/Castello focus on taking the net, Brea/Gonzalez maintained their lead and win 6-4. More realistic, able to count on the striking force of Bea Gonzalez, they perfectly control their opponents and place a new banderilla while the two teams are at 3-3 in the second set. Final result: 6-4 6-3. With a ratio of 40 winning points and 18 unforced errors (35/29 for their opponents), Brea/Gonzalez never seemed in difficulty.

Reunion El Lobo gets the better of Paquito Copyright Premier Padel

Tapia/Coello solid, Lebron/Di Nenno by a hair

In the men's competition, the quarter-final session began with the confrontation between Coello/Tapia and Diestro/Lancha. Although relatively balanced on the court, the game followed an identical scenario in the first and second acts, both won 6-4 after a break obtained at 4 games all. More hard-hitting (53 winning points against 30), plus aggressive (37 smashes against 29) and especially more surgical, Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia remained masters of the game and qualified without surprise for the last four.

They will face it Juan LeBron and Martin Di Nenno (TS 3), whose shock with Pablo Cardona and Paquito Navarro (TS 5) lived up to all its promises. Very balanced, the game saw the two pairs stand neck and neck. In the first set, a tie-break was needed to separate the protagonists: after leading 2-0 then 5-3, Cardona/Navarro were caught and then overtaken thanks to a handful of unforced errors: 7 points to 5 for Lebron/Di Nenno. The second set started on the same basis before "El Lobo" and "El Turco" broke at 2-1 and came to serve for the match at 5-3. It is at this precise moment that the game enters another dimension. The "puntazos" are multiplying on the central track (there will be a total of 112 winning points in this match) and Cardona/Navarro come back to level. This is when the fact of the game of the match : at 5-5, advantage Cardona/Navarro, Martin Di Nenno concludes an intense exchange with a winning smash which provokes the frustration of Paquito, who…  shakes the net furiously. Decision of the referee: Penalty point for Navarro, who had already received a warning, and… break point ! This one is converted by Lebron/Di Nenno, who concludes in stride on their service this breathless game. Promising, the Cardona/Navarro pair has just demonstrated that it had the means of his ambitions, provided however that the number of unforced errors is reduced a little (39 in this match, against 25 for Lebron/Di Nenno).

EsbriBergamini a convincing victory over YanguasStupaczuk Copyright Premier Padel

The Esbri/Bergamini sensation

The other big match of these men's quarter-finals was between Yanguas/Stupaczuk (TS 4) to Esbri/Bergamini (TS 12). Surprise: it was the outsiders who drew first, achieving the break in the first set. They never let go: 6/3 for Juanlu Esbri and Lucas Bergamini! The second set saw the teams hold the score. Combining patience and power, Esbri/Bergamini greatly hindered Mike Yanguas and Franco Stupaczuk, who managed to get through in the tie-break (7-3). We then thought that the favourites had done the hardest part… and we were wrong! In the third set, the games were tight. Esbri/Bergamini made Yanguas/Stupaczuk work hard, until they made the break at 3-2 after a very close game. The momentum has just changed sides. The next three games are largely dominated by Juanlu Esbri and Lucas Bergamini, who win 12 of the last 14 pointss. With 2 break points converted out of 8 (against 0 out of 2 for Yanguas/Stupaczuk), few unforced errors (23 over the 3 sets) and with 76 winning shots (67 for their opponents), Esbri/Bergamini passed brilliantly into the semi-finals of this Madrid P1.

They will find there Federico Chingotto and Alejandro Galan. In a perfectly controlled match, "Chingalan" showed his power against Cocki Nieto and Jon Sanz. After a dominant first set (6-2), the tournament's 2nd seed continued his percussion work and won 6-3 in the second set.

New matches to follow this Saturday, with semi-finals that should offer us new “puntazos”… and perhaps some surprises!

Frederic Theulé

Not a day goes by without a line… of padel court! For a few years now, Frédéric has decided to devote himself to his lifelong passion: the little yellow ball and its merciless world. Addict, did you say addict?

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