Genova Premier Padel P2, day 4. Coello/Tapia-Chingotto/Galan and Josemaria/Sanchez-Ortega/Araujo: final show

Coello/Tapia-Chingotto/Galan and Josemaria/Sanchez-Ortega/Araujo. These are the four pairs that, from 5 p.m. tomorrow, will play for the throne of Genova Premier Padel P2: four results that arrived at the end of an exciting Saturday, with an extraordinary public that enjoyed one match more beautiful and fought than the other. For Chingotto and Galan, but also for Josemaria and Sanchez, the chance to score an all-Italian double after triumphing two weeks ago in the BNL Italy Major Premier Padel in Rome.

MEN The first men’s semifinal of the Genova Premier Padel P2 was a show guaranteed. And the fans who filled the stands at Valletta Cambiaso Park were not disappointed. The one won by Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan over Paquito Navarro and Juan Lebron was one of the most beautiful matches of the season: it lasted two hours and 49 minutes and, despite the extraordinary performance of the number 4 on the draw, it was again the ‘Chingalan‘ who got the better of it, conquering their eighth final out of eight tournaments played together (so far four victories, in Brussels, Sevilla, Mar del Plata and Rome). But never as this time have the number 2 seed come close to defeat: thanks to a ‘Lobo’ in world version (the one who dominated with Galan) and a Paquito Navarro who thrilled the fans in Genova. Having lost the first set (decisive break in the fifth game), however, Chingotto and Galan did not lose heart: they found the break on 5-3, but after immediately giving up their service they found the strength to take the match to the third and decisive set. And in the final, after two errors by Lebron and a monstrous defense by Chingotto, came the point that earned them the final, and yet another chapter (the eighth) in the never-ending challenge against Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia, who in the evening overcame Franco Stupaczuk and Martin Di Nenno 7-6 6-2. The second semi-final was a balanced affair, especially in the first set, which was closed in a tiebreak by the number 1 on the draw; in the second set, however, an opening break paved the way for Coello and Tapia, who were ready to assault the sixth 2024 title after Doha, Acapulco, Puerto Cabello, Asuncion and Santiago.

WOMEN It was also a battle in the women’s draw, with Paula Josemaria and Ari Sanchez seeming to have regained the infernal rhythm of the beginning of the season. Thanks to a 6-3 4-6 6-2 win over Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernandez (3), the world number 1s will go hunting for their fifth title tomorrow, their first P2 after two P1s (Riyadh and Mar del Plata) and two Majors (Doha and Rome). Facing them were the winning pairs from the last four tournaments on the Premier Padel circuit (Triay and Fernandez triumphed in Santiago and Bordeaux) and the quality was there to be seen. For Josemaria and Sanchez, there was only a down in the second set (they were 2-5, before losing 6-4), but the great ability to give the decisive break in the match at 2-2 in the third set, winning four games in a row. In the first semifinal, on the other hand, Marta Ortega and Sofia Araujo celebrated their return as a pair by qualifying for the final, thanks to a 6-1 6-4 victory over Virginia Riera and Carmen Goenaga. After a first set dominated by the tournament’s number 4 seed, the second set lasted over an hour, with the ninth game giving the Spanish and the Portuguese player access to the final: for both it was the second in 2024, with Ortega having reached it in Bordeaux (with Virseda) and Araujo (with Riera) in Acapulco.