The show continues on the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Tour. Just hours after the electric Madrid P1 finals, Roland Garros hosts the start of the Alpine Paris Major Premier Padel main draw. Click here to discover everything you need to know about one of the biggest tournaments of the year.
A total of 112 pairs (60 men’s and 52 women’s) from 16 different countries will try to leave their mark at one of the most iconic venues from the world of sport, highlighting the international growth of padel in recent years.
AN ICONIC DAY FOR FRENCH PADEL AT PHILIPPE CHATRIER
Timeo Fonteny, Thomas Leygue and Dylan Guichard became local heroes at central court after their brilliant performances to qualify for the second round of the tournament.
Fonteny, four-time French junior champion, achieved a remarkable feat getting a solid win against Jose Luis González - Álvaro Meléndez alongside Nacho Morgues (6-1, 6-4 in one hour and eight minutes). As a reward, the 19-year-old backhand and his teammate will face Alex Arroyo - José Jimenez in the next round, No. 14 seeds and Madrid P1 underdogs after making it to the quarter-finals.
“The dream continues”, said Leygue after achieving one of the most special wins of his career. After coming back on tour earlier this year after spending eight months recovering from an Achilles tendon rupture, he sealed the triumph with his partner Jesus Moya in front of a captivated crowd. The pair, who started the tournament from qualifying, defeated promising duo of Enzo Jensen - David Gala (#21) after a two-hour battle that ended 7-6, 6-4.
“I want to thank everyone who supported me when I was struggling. There were moments when I got back to competition where I felt I didn’t know how to play padel. It’s amazing, this could be the best win of the year and our dream it’s not over yet”, said Leygue, who will now face a tough match against Sanyo Gutiérrez - Juanlu Esbrí (#13).
In the last game on centre court, Guichard thrilled his home crowd alongside Belgian player Clement Geens. Their victory was highly convincing against Spaniards Javi Ruiz and José Pineda (#33), as they decided the match in less than an hour, winning 6–0, 6–2.
“It was a dream for me to reach this level on such an incredible court. I’m very proud to get the win in front of my family. I hope I made them happy,” said the 26-year-old backhand player, who will now face Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger (#3), one of the contenders to win the tournament.
FROM QUALIFIERS TO SECOND ROUND
In the women’s draw, four pairs from the qualifiers are still alive in the tournament: Lorena Vano - Carmen Castillón, Bárbara Las Heras - Carla Mesa, Aída Martínez - Natividad López and Brittany Dubins - Camila Ramme. A particularly special achievement for Mexican player Ramme, who has reached the Round of 32 alongside her partner the United States’ No. 1 in her first-ever main draw on the tour.
On Wednesday, they will face No. 6 seeds Tamara Icardo and Claudia Jensen, who know what it takes to win on French soil after claiming the Bordeaux P2 title.
In the men’s draw, Arnau Ayats and Emilio Sánchez have achieved the same feat and will look to spoil Chingalán’s debut at the tournament, while Argentine team Franco Dal Bianco and Facundo Luis López will take on fourth seeds Franco Stupaczuk - Jon Sanz.
COLLADO - HERNÁNDEZ, STILL ALIVE IN THEIR LAST DANCE
The young Spanish duo will continue battling in Paris after announcing this will be their last tournament as a team. Hernández - Collado, who made it to the quarter-finals earlier this year at Cancún and Rome, ended with their bad streak with an empathic win over Flavio Abbate - Alonso Rodriguez (#30), a pair that was close to make it to the semi-finals in Madrid.
Now, they will try to delay their last dance against one of the most consistent teams in the tour, Paquito Navarro - Martín Di Nenno (#6), who have reached four quarter-finals and two semi-finals since teaming up at Italy Major in June.
