Mar del Plata Premier Padel P1, the verdicts: third triumph for Chingalan, it’s party time again for Ari and Paula

The escalation of Federico Chingotto and Alejandro Galan continue, while Ariana Sanchez and Paula Josemaria return to celebrate. On a day made unforgettable by the farewell ceremony of the ‘Boss’ Fernando Belasteguín, who played for the last time in ‘his’ Argentina at Mar del Plata Premier Padel P1 before retiring, the tournament staged the finals and in the men’s draw the number 2 seeded pair overcame Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia, ‘avenging’ the previous week’s defeat in the Paraguayan capital Asuncion. In the women’s final, the number 1 seeded pair defeated Delfina Brea and Bea Gonzalez in three sets after a battle lasting over three hours, putting an end to their opponents’ streak of 20 wins in a row, as they had won the last four P2s played.

MEN’S FINAL ‘Un gracias eterno’. The men’s final was preceded by a tribute to Belasteguín, probably the strongest player of all time, who, after Friday’s elimination, came down to the Centre court with his family to greet and thanking his people: in his speech, ‘Bela’ could not hold back his tears and at the end the crowd cheered him with choruses and applause. On the court, Chingotto (new No. 6 in FIP ranking, passed Stupaczuk and Navarro) and Galan, a pair ‘born’ this season at the end of March, played a match on the rise against Coello and Tapia – respectively number 1 and 2 in the FIP ranking – and managed to win in three sets: for them it was their third success (after the P2s in Brussels and Sevilla) in five tournaments played together in the Premier Padel circuit. Chingotto and Galan managed to regain a break in the first set, but it was a monologue of their opponents, who won fluently 6-2 in 38 minutes thanks to 23 winners (against 8). The second set also ended 6-2, but this time in favour of the number 2 seeded pair. The final was decided by the third set, where Chingotto and Galan broke the balance at 2-2 and closed with another 6-2 in one hour and 41 minutes. “I have to thank Federico for the strength of belief, the team and all the people here. The match was going badly, he is an outlier as a partner: thank you for delivering this final to me“, Galan said after the triumph. Chingotto almost couldn’t speak for the crowd’s chants: “Congratulations to Coello and Tapia, an incredible pair: it’s always difficult against them. I am happy with the credit Ale gave me, but he was decisive for this victory. I won in front of my people, thank you for believing in me“.

WOMEN’S FINAL The first set was dominated by Ari and Paula, who trailed 5-0 and then closed 6-1 in 47 minutes. A clear superiority for the No. 1 in the FIP Ranking, highlighted by just nine unforced errors and the balance of “winners”, 20 compared to Brea and Gonzalez‘s 12. In the second set, Brea and Bea raised the level of their padel, even if they were the first to lose their serve, in the seventh game: the Superpibas, however, gained the immediate counterbreak and managed to close 7-5 in an hour and 20 minutes. The match is wonderful. Brea and Bea approached the deciding set focused and pushed by the crowd, but Ari and Paula held their own point by point. The score followed the services until the ninth game, when the Spanish pair got the decisive break and then managed to close 6-4 on the third championship point. “We had not won since Doha, we often lost by details, but we managed to come back”, smiled Paula Josemaria talking about the third title of the season, after the Major in Qatar and the P1 in Riyadh. Ari Sanchez is also on a high: “Winning here is unique and wonderful, thanks to Paula and all the staff working with us. This win makes us happy and boosts us mentally”…