day 2. What a night for Nieto-Sanz and Gonzalez-Alonso!

Another incredible day at the Palau Sant Jordi, which began at 2 p.m. and ended at 2 a.m., with the ovation of the Barcelona crowd and the tears of Edu Alonso. His and Momo Gonzalez’s feat is historic, because never in this season had Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan stopped before the semi-finals. On the day 2 of the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Finals, however, Momo and Edu confirmed their great feeling by winning 6-4 4-6 6-4 in two hours and 35 minutes and eliminating the number 2 seed in the draw and winners of five titles this season.

In the second men’s semi-final of a programme starting not before 5 p.m. there will be the other underdog pair from the entry list, that of Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz, who in the other quarter-final played on Friday ended the season of Franco Stupaczuk and Mike Yanguas. It was a two-hour and 58-minute marathon in which the number 3 seed had managed to win an endless first set on tiebreak. Then, however, the quality of play of Nieto and Sanz (winners in Bordeaux) soared and they were able to come back to win 6-7 6-3 6-4. The other men’s semifinal is the one between Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia and Martin Di Nenno and Juan Lebron (4-0 in the head to head), which will open the afternoon session at 5 p.m..

WOMEN It will be another day not to be missed in Barcelona. At 11 a.m., the women’s semifinals will open the Saturday programme: the first one will be between the number 1 ranked Paula Josemaria and Ari Sanchez against Ale Salazar and Jessica Castelló in an unprecedented challenge. Delfi Brea and Veronica Virseda, who had never played together before the Finals, got off to a bad start by losing the first set to Ale Alonso and Andrea Ustero, but turned things around with a 2-6 6-1 6-4 final that will see them face Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernandez, who also played a three-set match. Tamara Icardo – the last player to enter the draw – and Claudia Jensen had won the second set after losing the first, but the final spurt was Gemma and Claudia’s, who can continue their run to their seventh title of the season.

Between the morning and afternoon sessions, there will be a tribute to Fernando Belasteguin, who ended his professional career in Milano. On the court, at the Palau Sant Jordi, there will be other padel legends: Juan Martin Diaz, Juani Mieres, Gaby Reca, Pablo Lima, Seba Nerone, joined by former footballer Carles Puyol and Gianluca Vacchi.