BNL Italy Major Premier Padel, day 5: Coello-Tapia and Triay still in the race for another title

Two more days. Then we will know which two pairs will be the king and queen of BNL Italy Major Premier Padel, the second major of the season that goes on thrilling Roman people at Foro Italico. Today the quarter finals were scheduled, and if in the men’s draw all the top four seeds gained qualification, in the women’s one Jessica Castelló and Claudia Jensen (5) with a practically perfect match eliminated Delfi Brea and Alba Gallardo (4) reaching the semifinals. Which will all be played tomorrow on the Centre Court starting at 3 p.m.

MEN In the men’s draw, all the favourite “parejas” advance. Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia, seeded number 1 and defending champions at Foro Italico, play a very solid match against Mike Yanguas and Javi Garrido: the two Spaniards, seeded number 6, hold their own especially in the first set, but end up surrendering 7-5 6-4 in an hour and 47 minutes of play. On Saturday, in the semifinals, Coello and Tapia will face Paquito Navarro and Juan Lebron on the Centre Court (second match), who are steadily progressing after the risks of their debut. The number 4 seeded pair beat 7-5 6-3 in one hour and 23 minutes Alex Ruiz and Momo Gonzalez (7): it will be the third semifinal for them against the top two players in the FIP Ranking after those lost at P2 in Asuncion and P1 in Santiago.

In the lower part of the draw, Ale Galan and Fede Chingotto (2) on one side and Franco Stupaczuk and Martin Di Nenno (3) on the other will compete for a place in the final. “Chingalan” prevailed 6-3 6-1 Edu Alonso and Alex Arroyo (11) in one hour and six minutes, while the Superpibes overcame 6-2 6-3 in 54 minutes Lucas Campagnolo and Javi Leal (13), who in the Round of 16 had ended the path of Fernando Belasteguin and Juan Tello.

WOMEN In the women’s draw, the march of the top two top seeds proceeds swiftly and smoothly. Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernandez leave no chance to number 16 seeded Spanish countrywomen Marina Guinart and Araceli Martinez, defeated with a peremptory 6-0 6-1 in 51 minutes. In the semifinals it will be derby again for Gemma, who won in Rome last year paired with Marta Ortega, and the “Niña Maravilla”: Lucia Sainz and Patty Llaguno (8), in fact, will be their rivals, after their 6-0 6-4 success over the pair formed by Ksenia Sharifova and Lucia Martinez Gomez (15). A match that will open Saturday’s schedule and is thus repeated for the third tournament in a row, after Triay and Fernandez‘s victories in the Santiago final and Bordeaux semifinal.

Ari Sanchez and Paula Josemaria also confirmed themselves as a “steamroller”: the two Spaniards, number 1 seeded and finalists in the last edition, knocked out 6-2 6-1 in less than an hour Carla Mesa and Sara Ruiz Soto, who bid farewell after an otherwise positive tournament. Ari and Paula will be pitted against Castelló and Jensen tomorrow in the third match on the Centre Court scheduled not before 7 p.m.: 6-1 6-2 in one hour and 11 minutes is the loss inflicted on Brea and the 18-year-old Gallardo, who joined the Argentine in Rome replacing the injured Bea Gonzalez.