Coello and Tapia, Chingotto and Galan, in Miami another chapter for the ‘Duelists’?

The ‘Duelists’ again. Will the ‘Pista Juan Y Bela’ be the theatre for the sixteenth chapter of the challenge that, as in Ridley Scott’s masterpiece, goes on forever jumping from one Premier to another, from one continent to another? Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia versus Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan: the ‘Duelists’. To find out if they will meet again, we will have to wait until Saturday, the day of the semi-finals of the Motorola Razr Miami Premier Padel P1, but expectations are already high. Also because today, in Florida, the top two pairs in the FIP ranking will make their debut: Chingotto and Galan versus Alex Chozas and Alex Ruiz, Coello and Tapia versus Javi Garcia and Javier Barahona. Coello who, by the way, has chosen Miami as his ‘second home’ and will return to Florida to train during the periods when he is not busy with tournaments around the world.

That between Coello and Tapia and Chingotto and Galan has, in the space of a year, become one of the padel world’s historic rivalries: just this time, in March 2024, Chingotto and Galan made their debut in Puerto Cabello after the Spaniard and Juan Lebron’s partnership ended. And from that day on, a head-to-head competition began, with the top four players in the FIP ranking playing each other 15 times. The balance speaks of 10 wins to 5 for ‘Arturito’ and ‘Agus’, with 23 sets (180 games) won by Coello and Tapia and 14 (155 games) won by Chingotto and Galan. But if in the outdoor challenges there is balance, with three wins on each side, when playing indoors – as at the Miami Beach Convention Center – Coello and Tapia dominate, with seven wins to two.

Two victories, those of Chingotto and Galan, came in Brussels and Mar del Plata, also in three sets. Chingalan’s last victory came in July in Genova, an ocean away from Miami: from that day on, Coello and Tapia would not lose a match again until the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Finals in Barcelona. And even in Miami, they are the big favourites: the fight for the throne is fierce, however, with the debut also scheduled for today of the number 3 and 4 seeded pairs. The number 3s will be Juan Lebron, who has won 33 (!) tournaments with Galan, and Franco Stupaczuk, fresh from their success in the P2 in Cancun; the number 4s, on the other hand, are Mike Yanguas and Coki Nieto. Common goal: to stop the run of the ‘Big 4’ of world padel and conquer Miami.