The Emaar Dubai Premier Padel P1 can already be considered one of the most surprising tournaments of the season following a quarter-final day that saw the elimination of top seeds Gemma Triay-Delfi Brea (#1) in the women’s draw, as well as Jon Sanz-Franco Stupaczuk (#4) and Lucas Campagnolo-Momo González (#7) in the men’s draw.

Tamara Icardo-Claudia Jensen (#5) repeated their achievement from the Bordeaux P2, where they claimed the title after beating the world No. 1s in three sets, just as they did this Friday. Meanwhile, Javi Garrido-Juani De Pascual (#14) and Flavio Abbate-Franco Dal Bianco (#30) will both contest their first semi-finals in Dubai after upsetting two top seeded teams.

Bordeaux Memories

Icardo-Jensen opened the day against the world No. 1s, knowing they had everything to gain and little to lose. With both already virtually assured of qualifying for the Finals, they produced one of their best performances of the season to stun Triay-Brea. Following this defeat, the top seeds will have to keep fighting at the upcoming Mexico Major to move closer to their goal of retaining the world No. 1 ranking for a second consecutive season.

The team coached by Maxi Grabiel made a fast start and took control of the scoreboard, eventually claiming the opening set 6-3 after securing several breaks. The expected response from Triay-Brea followed, as they won the second set 6-3 to force a decider. However, Icardo-Jensen raised their level once again, sealing the victory in two hours and five minutes with a commanding 6-1 final set.

The result brought back memories of their spectacular triumph in Bordeaux at the beginning of the summer, when they lifted the trophy after beating Triay-Brea in a memorable final. They will now face Claudia Fernández-Martina Calvo (#4) in the semi-finals. The latter defeated them in the quarter-finals of the London P1, the only previous meeting between the two teams.

Abbate Makes Italian Padel History

The 22-year-old player, alongside Franco Dal Bianco, became the first Italian to reach the semi-finals of a P1 tournament after defeating Momo González-Lucas Campagnolo (#7) in three sets, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2.

Abbate came close to achieving this milestone at the Madrid P1 alongside his former partner Álvaro Montiel, but he has now broken new ground for Italian padel. He also helped his country secure fourth place at last week’s FIP World Cup in Qatar. This victory guarantees him at least 360 points and will make him the highest-ranked Italian player in the FIP Rankings from Monday. His partner Dal Bianco will also play his first semi-finals on Tour, just over a year after beginning his journey through the CUPRA FIP Tour tournaments.

That was not the only upset of the day. Javi Garrido-Juani De Pascual (#14) brought Friday’s action to a close with an outstanding performance to knock out the tournament’s third seeds, Franco Stupaczuk-Jon Sanz, who had been among the leading title contenders.

Garrido-De Pascual made the most of the fast court conditions, dominating the smashes and controlling almost the entire match. They raced to a 6-1 opening set and secured an early break in the second. Stupaczuk-Sanz managed to fight back and level at 5-5, but Garrido-De Pascual produced one final surge, breaking their opponents’ serve at a crucial moment to seal their place in the semi-finals. It was the fastest men’s match of the day, lasting just one hour and 16 minutes, with a 6-1, 7-5 scoreline.

This result means that young De Pascual will reach his first semi-finals on Tour, while Garrido returns to this stage exactly one year after reaching it alongside Lucas Campagnolo at the previous edition of the Dubai P1.

Hamdan Sports Complex Gets Ready for the Semi-Finals

Here is the scheduled order of play for this Saturday, when the men’s and women’s semi-finals of the Dubai P1 will take place:

Starting at 4.00 pm local time

Icardo-Jensen (#6) vs Fernández-Calvo (#4)

Followed by

Sánchez-Ustero (#3) vs González-Josemaría (#2)

Not before 7:00 pm

Abbate-Dal Bianco (#30) vs Augsburger-Lebrón (#2)

Followed by

Libaak-Alfonso (#10) vs De Pascual-Garrido (#14)