Delfi-Gemma and Coki-Mike, the first semifinal pairs: “The score doesn’t show how tough the match really was”

The first two quarterfinals of the FIP World Cup Pairs took place at the stunning BNK Central Court in Arena Kuwait, where the tournament’s top seeds, Gemma Triay and Delfi Brea, faced Alejandra Alonso and Claudia Jensen. Meanwhile, at the packed Alghanim Court – where one of the most anticipated matches was played – Mike Yanguas and Coki Nieto took on David Gala and Pablo Garcia, one of the biggest surprises of the event after knocking out Di Nenno and Augsburger. Both matches offered top-level padel, though the final scores didn’t quite reflect how close the games were.

Gemma and Delfi booked their spot in the semis in just over an hour, winning 6-2 6-1. The world number one later said: “We knew they were playing great and we were right. Don’t be fooled by the score — it can be misleading sometimes. The first set was tighter than it looks. Last time we faced them, in Rotterdam, we started really strong, up 5-2 with the serve, but then lost the set and only won it in the third. We knew we couldn’t relax for a second against them.”

YANGUAS-NIETO, A PERFECT MATCH The first men’s semifinalists were Mike Yanguas and Coki Nieto, who beat the tournament’s biggest surprise, David Gala and Pablo Garcia, with a double 6-2. Again, the score was a bit harsh considering it took an hour and 25 minutes, with many games going to long deuce battles. The timing itself shows the match was way closer than the result suggests. Yanguas spoke about how much he likes the new FIP World Cup Pairs format: “I really like it — you get to play with your regular partner, the one you share the season with, and that’s extra motivation. If you win, it’s a double prize: 2000 ranking points and the world champion title. That’s huge motivation, even though we prepare it like a Major. Being world champion doesn’t happen every day!” After the match, Nieto pointed out how misleading the score was: “David and Pablo really surprised us in a good way — the result doesn’t show how tough the match was. I think Mike and I played really well, and if we hadn’t kept that level, they could’ve made things difficult for us. We took our chances and stayed super solid.”