Movistar Arena enjoyed the return to action of Premier Padel’s biggest men’s stars following the summer break. The Madrid venue witnessed a number of dominant performances, including one from world No.1s Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia, who, after ending the first half of the season by lifting the historic inaugural London P1, comfortably saw off Mouriño-Quílez on Wednesday, winning 6-0, 6-1 in 43 minutes.

Their main challengers also came through in straight sets, with Madrid-born Alejandro Galán and Argentine Fede Chingotto defeating Patiniotis-García 6-2, 6-4, while the third seeds Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger – the defending champions in Madrid – beat Hernández-Martínez 6-3, 6-3.

TWO PROMISING DEBUTS

There was plenty of anticipation surrounding the Premier Padel debuts of two new partnerships in the upper half of the men’s draw: Franco Stupaczuk and Jon Sanz, the No.4 seeds in Madrid, and Coki Nieto and Mike Yanguas, seeded No.5.

Having faced each other in last Sunday’s FIP Gold Belgrade final, which went the way of ‘Stupa’ and Jon, both partnerships made winning starts to their Premier Padel campaigns with identical scorelines. The No.4 seeds defeated Cabeza-González San Martín 6-4, 6-3, while Coki and Mike beat Piotto-Perino by the same score.

ALFONSO-LIBAAK AND ABBATE-RODRÍGUEZ SPRING SURPRISES

The biggest surprise of the day came courtesy of Italian talent Flavio Abbate and Spaniard Alonso Rodríguez, who produced a remarkable comeback to knock out Javi Leal and Fran Guerrero, the No.7 seeds and finalists at the Pretoria P1 in early August. Abbate and Rodríguez prevailed in two tie-breaks, winning 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(6).

The rest of the top eight largely lived up to expectations, with Paquito Navarro and Martín Di Nenno comfortably beating Collantes-Martínez 6-1, 6-2, while Momo González and Lucas Campagnolo saw off Perino-Fernández Lancha 6-4, 6-3.

The No.9 seeds, Javi Garrido and Lucas Bergamini, were the notable casualties, falling in straight sets to Gonza Alfonso and Tino Libaak 6-3, 7-6(4). The Argentines have been one of the standout pairings of the tournament, displaying a high level of padel and an impressive connection as they reached their first last-16 stage as a partnership since joining forces in South Africa.

SALAZAR MARCHES ON AS WOMEN’S TOP FOUR ENTER THE FRAY

In the women’s draw, much of the attention was focused on legendary Alejandra Salazar, who, at 40, is playing the final tournament of her career in her home city. The former world No.1 came through a gruelling encounter alongside Aranza Osoro, beating Manquillo-Martínez 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. They will face Lorena Rufo and Victoria Iglesias in the last 16.

Madrid-born Marta Ortega, the No.5 seed alongside Sofia Araújo, also booked her place in the last 16 with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Luján-Martínez. They will face Bea Caldera and Carmen Goenaga on Thursday.

Thursday will also see the world’s four leading women’s pairings enter the fray: Triay-Brea, González-Josemaría, Sánchez-Ustero and Fernández-Calvo. They headed into the summer break by lifting the London P1, becoming the youngest partnership in circuit history to win a title.