Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Italy entered the women’s semi-finals of the FIP World Padel Championships in Doha yesterday. The quarter-finals, especially the match between France and Portugal, captivated the audience at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex.
Following wins by Collombon and Ginier Barbier over Fernandes/Gaspar and by Ribeiro/Araujo over Pothier/Soubrie, the decisive victory came from Santos/Nogueira against Touly/Godallier: it ended 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 13 minutes.
Now, Portugal will face Spain, which secured its semi-final ticket with wins by Claudia Fernandez and Ari Sanchez (6-1, 6-0 over Girdo/Bjork) and by Marta Ortega and Jessica Castelló over Arvidsson/Navarro (6-7, 6-2, 6-1).
In the other draw, Argentina defeated the Netherlands 3-0: Aranzazu Osoro and Julieta Bidahorria opened with a 6-2, 6-0 win over De Vocht/Betz; the other points were won by Delfi Brea and Claudia Jensen (6-0, 6-1 against Koek/Luttikhuis) and Virginia Riera and Daiara Valenzuela (6-2, 6-3 over Hemmes/Weterings).
Next up for the Albiceleste is Italy, which beat Brazil 2-0, with Carolina Orsi and Carlotta Casali (6-2, 6-0 against Abbud de Barros/Cirne) and Emily Stellato and Giulia Sussarello (6-4, 6-0 over Schuck/Abarzua) securing victory.
In the men’s, Fede Chingotto and Martín Di Nenno put on a show during the quarter-finals as the two Argentinians overwhelmed the Chileans Walker/Munos Campos 6-2, 6-1, securing the first point for the ‘Albiceleste’ which then advanced to the
semi-finals.
“Playing with Martin is a beautiful thing because we have been meeting on the court for a lifetime, and being able to compete together in the World Championship is something I really enjoy,” commented Chingotto at the post-match press conference.
“The pairing remained a secret until the last moment – he continued – and I had hoped for a long time to play with Martín, but it’s not simple; our team has great players at the individual level, and making certain choices is always risky. Today was a surprise: the captains gave us the lineup, and we are happy to be here,” he added.