Lotto Brussels Premier P2, the finals: first triumph for Chingotto-Galan, a repeat for Brea-Gonzalez

A ‘first time’ for Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan, the confirmation for Delfi Brea and Bea Gonzalez. The Lotto Brussels Premier P2 has handed down his verdicts and if in the women’s draw it was the couple who had also won the title in the previous tournament (the P2 in Puerto Cabello) thanks to a straight set victory over Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernandez, in the men’s draw there was a handover: The Argentine and the Spaniard, at their second tournament together, overcame in three sets (6-4, 6-7, 6-2) the number one seeded Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia taking revenge after their defeat in Venezuela and breaking their winning streak. It was an exciting and thrilling final, which Chingotto and Galan practically had to win twice after failing five match-points in the second set. With this victory, Ale Galan overtakes Tapia and takes the second position in the FIP Ranking. Now the circuit moves to Spain, in Andalusia, with the Sevilla Premier Padel P2 scheduled from Tuesday 30 April to Sunday 5 May.

MEN Chingotto and Galan started with more conviction in the first set and got the break in the opening game, winning it after failing three break points. Coello and Tapia reacted and gained the 3-3 with a fantastic point, bringing the match back into balance. But the number 3 seeded pair broke their opponents again in the next game and managed to win the first set 6-4 in 46 minutes, thanks mainly to their greater precision. The second set raced along on the edge of balance until the seventh game, when Chingotto and Galan broke and then took a 5-3 lead. Coello (number 1 in the FIP ranking) and Tapia (number 2) seemed to give up, but they found unhoped-for resources and after cancelling a total of five match-points they managed to take the set to the tie-break. Which they won 7-4 in an hour and a minute, taking the final to the third set to the delight of the Central Court crowd. Those who expected Chingotto and Galan to suffer the psychological impact of the match-point failed, however, need to change their mind: the Argentine and the Spaniard broke their rivals in the second game and, after cancelling five break points at 3-1 in their favour, closed 6-2 at the end of a final that lasted a total of two hours and 26 minutes. After eighteen wins in a row, Coello and Tapia’s winning streak came to an end, their second defeat of the season (out of 24 matches played).

“I try not to get too excited, I have to thank Ale and all my team“, said Chingotto, at his first Premier Padel title after five finals, “It’s a small demonstration of what we can do, we were united and I want to congratulate Coello and Tapia who are at an incredible level and will win so many tournaments this season. I promised my family this moment, and it has finally arrived’.

Also justifiably satisfied was Galan: “I want to thank all the staff and especially Fede, an incredible player. We don’t have too much time to celebrate because we are focused on Seville, but to win here in Brussels was beautiful. At the beginning of a project you can’t set your goals too high, but with hours and hours of training we are growing a lot: we made the final in the last tournament, where Coello and Tapia were better. Today I think we played the whole match at a very high level, also mentally after the wasted chances. We hope to maintain this level in the coming weeks“.

WOMEN In the women’s final, it was Triay and 18-year-old Fernandez, the ‘Niña Maravilla’ of padel, who got off on the right foot: the Spanish pair, number 3 in the seeding, managed to break in the fourth game and took a 3-1 lead. Brea and Bea shook it off, raised the level of play and turned the tides of the set, winning four games in a row before closing 6-4 in an hour and a minute, thanks mainly to their 20 winners. In the second set, Brea (No. 5 in the FIP ranking) and Gonzalez (No. 4) broke their rivals in the opening game and took a 2-0 lead: Triay and Fernandez continued to fight and had two break points to get back into the match, but were unable to exploit them and on 4-2 they lost their serve for the second time. Brea and Bea served for the match, but in their turn suffered the break before closing with another 6-4 in an hour and 51 minutes of play, after cancelling two more break-points.

For the number 2 seeded pair this was the second consecutive triumph after the one at P2 in Puerto Cabello – at P1 in Riyadh they had instead lost in the final – while Triay and Fernandez, held back by 40 unforced errors, surrendered yet again just a step away from the title, as had happened to them at the Major in Qatar against Ari and Paula. “Thanks to the crowd, thanks to everyone who came here to Brussels, it was really a dream week and we are very happy to have played here in front of so many people. The final was very tough, I would just like to send a thought to my family who is always close to me“, Delfi Brea said after the victory. “A spectacular week, from day one we had to work hard to win our games: we can celebrate!“, confirmed a smiling Bea Gonzalez, “I am happy, I also thank my family: if we are here it is thanks to them that gave us the opportunity to dedicate ourselves to padel since we were young“.