OYSHO Valladolid FIP Gold, day 2. Rico-Esbri and Caldera-Rufo to beat

A long day of padel at Club Raqueta in Valladolid has elected the finalist pairs of the OYSHO Valladolid FIP Gold. Playing for the title in the men’s draw will be the number 1 seeded players, Javi Rico and Juanlu Esbri: after their quarterfinal victory in the morning over Fran Ramirez and Victor Mena (6-4 6-4), Rico/Esbri defeated Javi Garcia and ‘Chipi’ Muñoz with a score of 6-3 6-7 6-3. In the final they will face José Solano and Luis Hernandez: the two Spaniards, who were not even among the eight seeds, started the day with 6-4 2-6 6-3 over Federico Mouriño and Ignacio Piotto, and ended it with 7-5 6-2 over Alvaro Cepero and Miguel Benitez.

In the women’s draw, on the other hand, number 1 seed Bea Caldera and Lorena Rufo lived up to expectations, beating 6-4 6-2 Marta Barrera and Marta Caparros in the quarters and repeating in the semifinals (6-0 7-6) over Carla Mesa and Sara Ruiz Soto. Facing them will be Sandra Bellver and Marta Borrero, who at the end of two battles eliminated first Julieta Bidahorria and Alix Collombon (5-7 6-4 6-4), then Marta Talavan and Ana Catarina Nogueira (4-6 7-5 6-3). The finals will start on Saturday at 10 a.m., with live coverage on the FIP YouTube channel.