Ponta Delgada, Day1: two surprises in the men’s draw

Two surprise pairs drew the applause of the crowd in Ponta Delgada, in the Azores, on Day 1 of the FIP Gold, where the first two rounds were played. The first featured two home players: Pedro “Peu” Araujo and Pedro Graça, members of the Portuguese team that won silver at the FIP Euro Padel Cup 2025, defeated Ignacio Sager and Juani Rubini (7) in straight sets and will now face José Jiménez and Maxi Sánchez Blasco (3). Also advancing to Day 2, when the quarter-finals and semi-finals will be played, are Fede Mouriño and Marc Quilez, following their victory in two tie-break sets over Lucho Capra and Víctor Ruiz (6). The top two seeds also progressed: Javi Barahona and Javi García (1) will now meet Juan Cruz Belluati and Facundo Domínguez, while Alex Ruiz and Juanlu Esbrí (2) will face Marc Sintes and Dani Santigosa (10).

 

In the women’s draw, Italian player Francesca Ligotti, partnering Lorena Alonso, impressed by defeating Margarida Fernandes and Brittany Dubins (7) in three sets, earning a meeting with the top seeds Patty Llaguno and Martina Fassio. The other seeded pairs progressed as expected: Rodríguez/Dal Pozzo will face Borrero/Sharifova, Martínez/Perez will compete against Nogueira/Lujan for a place in the semi-finals, while Bidahorria/Caparros will take on García/Vera.