Argentina players celebrate after defeating Spain in the men's final.
Doha, Qatar: Argentina defended the Men’s World Padel Championship title in a dramatic tiebreaker in Doha yesterday, defeating Spain 2-1.
In the decisive third match, Leandro Augsburger and Valentin Gomez Libaak kept the spectators on the edge of their seats at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex, overcoming Spain’s Miguel Yanguas and Francisco Navarro in a gripping three-set battle.
The Argentine duo rallied from a set down to take the victory, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, in a nerve-wracking tiebreak.
Argentina men's team (left) and Spain's women's team were crowned champions at the FIP Qatar World Padel Championship titles at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha.
In the thrilling showdown last night, Spain struck first with Arturo Coello and Javier Nieto delivering a dominant performance against Argentina’s Franco Stupaczuk and Martin Di Nenno to win 6-1, 6-2 in just under an hour.
However, Argentina quickly bounced back in the second match to draw level.
Argentina's Agustin Tapia and Federico Chingotto, ranked second and fourth in the world respectively, managed to overcome the seasoned pair of Juan Lebron and Alejandro Galan in a fierce contest that ended in a 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 scoreline.
Yesterday's final saw the two heavyweights meet for the 14th occasion as the South Americans secured their 12th men's world title.
Meanwhile, Qatar finished 16th after losing to Paraguay 2-0. Sergio Miltos and Marcelo Gonzalez comfortably defeated Qatar’s Mohammed Saadon Al Kuwari and Mohamed Abdulla in the first match with a score of 6-1, 6-4.
In the second matchup, Fernando Dehnike and Martin Fernandez Popovich continued Paraguay’s success by beating Qatar’s Abdulla Hassan and Jabor Al Mutawa 6-1, 6-4 to complete the two-match sweep.
Portugal secured the bronze medal with a clean sweep against Italy, while France, the bronze winners at the last World Championships, finished seventh with a 2-1 win over Chile.
UAE came fifth with a 2-0 sweep against Brazil.
Sweden signed off in ninth place after defeating Netherlands 2-0. USA beat Mexico 2-0 to seal the 13th spot, while Belgium recorded a hard-fought 2-1 win over Uruguay to finish in 11th place.
Earlier, Spanish women overcame Argentina 2-0 to clinch their sixth straight world title.
Spain's players celebrate after winning the women's final.
The Spanish pair of Gemma Triay Pons and Carmen Fernandez Sanchez set the tone on Center Court yesterday afternoon, defeating Argentina’s Maria Virginia Riera and Julieta Edith Bidahorria in straight sets (6-3, 6-2) to put Spain ahead. In the second match, Ariana Sanchez Fallada and Paula Josemaria Martin were challenged by Argentina’s Delfina Brea Senesi and Claudia Jensen Sirvent. After dropping the first set 3-7, Sanchez and Josemaria rallied back to win the next two sets 7-5, 7-5 to secure the ninth world title for Spain.
“It was a very tough match, but we are an incredible team and we showed that we are throughout the week, but at the most important moment, we brought out all our qualities,” a jubilant Fallada said after the final.
“Especially in the first set the match was really tough. We suffered, but we tried to put as many balls on the court as possible. Congratulations to Argentina for playing to their limits, we, on the other hand, want to dedicate this to the Comunidad Valenciana. We are all with you,” Josemaria said, remembering the victims of the deadly floods back home.
