Day 5. Sanchez and Ustero, a historic marathon! Four hours and 12 minutes to stop Josemaria and Gonzalez and reach the final

Those in the stands of the Foro Italico Centre Court in Rome witnessed a match that enters the history of padel. The second women’s semi-final of the BNL Italy Major Premier Padel lasted four hours and 12 minutes, with Ari Sanchez and Andrea Ustero overcoming Paula Josemaria and Bea Gonzalez 5-7 7-6 7-6 after an extraordinary marathon to secure a place in the final, something the tournament’s number 3 seeds had not achieved for six tournaments. Since winning in Riyadh and losing the final in Gijon, it had always been Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay on one side, and Paula Josemaria and Bea Gonzalez on the other, contesting the title. Josemaria and Gonzalez suffered their first defeat after 22 consecutive victories and five titles won, despite holding four match points: two at 6-5 in the second set, one at 8-7 in the second-set tie-break, and one at 6-5 in the tie-break of the deciding set. The previous Premier Padel record was the match between Virginia Riera and Marta Borrero against Sofia Saiz and Marina Lobo at the Milano P1 in 2024, which lasted exactly four hours. Awaiting Ari Sanchez (already champion in Rome in 2024) and Andrea Ustero, who reached the 2024 Paris Major final alongside Delfi Brea, will be Brea herself and Gemma Triay, who in the first semi-final ended the remarkable run of Giulia Dal Pozzo — the first Italian player ever to go this far in a Major — and Nuria Rodriguez with a 6-3 6-3 victory.

 

MEN The men’s final will once again feature the ‘Clasico’ between Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia and Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan. Earlier in the afternoon, the two-time defending champions were the first to secure their place in the final, defeating Juan Lebron and Leo Augsburger 7-6 6-3 in a match decided by fine margins and a single break, in the third game of the second set. Later in the evening, following the comeback victory by Sanchez and Ustero, Coello and Tapia defeated Momo Gonzalez and Lucas Campagnolo in straight sets (6-1 6-4). Coello and Tapia lead the head-to-head series 21-13 against their rivals. Chingotto and Galan have won the last four meetings (Gijon, Miami, Asuncion and Buenos Aires), but the world number ones’ most recent victory came outdoors, in the Riyadh final.

 

The final day of the Rome Major will begin at 18:00 with the women’s final, followed by the men’s final not before 20:00. Another highly anticipated Sunday awaits.