Lima says goodbye to Rome, but what a surprise the ‘Melendez brothers’

From next year, padel without Pablo Lima will not be the same. The Brazilian legend announced his retirement from competition at the end of this season, but his last adventure at the Foro Italico is already over. Paired with Argentinean Agustin Silingo, Lima was defeated 6-2 5-7 6-0 by Spanish brothers Pedro and Alvaro Melendez Amaya, one of the big surprises of the BNL Italy Major Premier Padel. Coming from the qualifiers, they have already made it through two rounds of the main draw and on Thursday they will earn their place on the Centre Court by opening the schedule against another seed, number 9, formed by Argentines Maxi Sanchez and Luciano Capra.

Divided by three years (Pedro was born in 1997, Alvaro in 2000) they smile after their game on court 8: they sign autographs and take selfies with the fans. “We worked hard to achieve this result – says Pedro –. We always believed we could beat a legend like Lima, but before the match it was obviously much more likely that they would win. Now, however, we are in the round of 16 and it is a dream”. It’s logical to ask how is the feeling between two brothers in the same half of the court: “At the beginning it wasn’t easy because obviously we know each other perfectly and you have to know how to say the right words to each other, but we are a very close couple: we have fun”.

They are doing it in an iconic location like the Foro Italico. “Wonderful – adds Alvaro -. The fans do not fail to support all the players, and this makes the atmosphere magnificent. We want to enjoy it, thinking game by game”. And nobody knows how the Melendez Amaya family is enjoying this exploit: “Our parents are in Sevilla because they work, I don’t know if they will be here – Pedro concludes –. For sure, I’ll go back to the locker room and book a flight for my girlfriend”.