Veronica Virseda and Marta Gellego celebrate after defeating Marta Talavan and Buria Rodriguez.
Doha, Qatar: Pre-tournament favourites Juan Lebron and Alejandro Galan suffered a shock exit at the Premier Padel Ooredoo Qatar Major when Javier Garrido and Miguel Yanguas defeated the top-seeded pair in a thriller that lasted almost three hours.
Yesterday's thrilling all-Spanish showdown at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex concluded with scores of 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, favouring Garrido and Yanguas, propelled the winning pair into the quarterfinals, where they will compete against compatriots Alejandro Arroyo and Eduardo Alonso.
Arroyo and Alonso, seeded 14th, beat Argentina’s Juan Tello and Spain’s Alejandro Ruiz (No.7 seeds) in another thriller that lasted 86 minutes.
Javier Garrido and Miguel Yanguas celebrate after defeating Juan Lebron and Alejandro Galan.
Meanwhile, the defending champions, Martin Di Nenno and Franco Stupaczuk became the first to qualify for the quarter-finals of the prestigious Doha event.
The Argentine duo defeated their Spanish counterparts, qualifiers Miguel Angel Solbes and Carlos Marti in two unanswered sets, 6-3, 6-3.
On the women’s side, Spain’s Lucia Sainz and her partner Patricia Llaguno also advanced to the quarter-finals, defeating Italy’s Lorena Vano Martin and Brazilian Manuela Silva, 6-2, 6-0 while third seeds Gemma Tray Pons and Claudia Fernandez overcame Lorena Rufo and Lucia Martinez 6-1, 6-1 to advance.
Veronica Virseda and Marta Gellego also made it to the last eight by defeating Marta Talavan and Buria Rodriguez 7-5, 6-3.
The second seed, Spain’s Beatriz Gonzalez, and her partner Delfina Brea Sensei of Argentina also advanced by defeating Argentine Aranzazu Osoro and the Spaniard Carmen Goenaga Garcia, 6-4, 6-1.
Speaking to Qatar News Agency after the match, Brea highlighted the exceptional organization and the highly competitive nature of the tournament which is regarded as one of the season’s most significant events.
Brea extended her gratitude towards the Qatari Tennis Federation and the event’s organizing committee for their exceptional management and organisational efforts, which she believed are crucial for athletes to perform at their peak.
Reflecting on their victory, Brea remarked on the challenging nature of the match against a duo that has demonstrated remarkable performance recently, expressing deep satisfaction with the outcome and the advancement to the next stage of the competition.
Looking ahead to the quarter-final clash, Brea said she is anticipating a challenging match against the fifth-seeded Spanish team of Alejandra Salazar and Timira Icardo, but added that she remains hopeful for a victory that would enable further progress in the tournament.
