Day4. Di Nenno and Navarro among the giants, semi-finals on Saturday

Seven of the eight strongest pairs in the world, according to the FIP ranking and the entry list for the London Premier Padel P1, are still in contention for the title at Olympia London – where two Arsenal players, Kepa and Riccardo Calafiori, enjoyed the action today. And then there are Paquito Navarro and Martin Di Nenno, who since reuniting at the Rome Major have already reached their third semi-final, following those in Bordeaux and Malaga. Their 7-5 6-7 6-3 victory over Edu Alonso and Aimar Goñi sets up a semi-final against Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia, who, after ending the memorable week of Mariano Gonzalez and Curro Cabeza with a 6-1 6-2 victory, are aiming to return to the final after missing out in Pretoria. This will be the first of the two men’s semi-finals, scheduled not before 3.30 p.m. local time (4.30 p.m. CEST). They will be followed by Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan, who will look to defend the title they won last Sunday in South Africa. After their 6-0 6-1 victory in 44 minutes over Momo Gonzalez and Lucas Campagnolo, they will face Juan Lebron and Leo Augsburger, who came through a hard-fought quarter-final against Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz, winning 6-3 2-6 6-3.

 

WOMEN The women’s semi-finals will open the day’s programme at 12 p.m. local time, with the top four seeds all in action. First, Claudia Fernandez and Martina Calvo, who defeated Tamara Icardo and Claudia Jensen 6-3 6-4, will face Paula Josemaria and Bea Gonzalez, who beat Marta Talavan and Jessica Castelló 6-2 3-6 6-0. It is a repeat of last week’s semi-final in Pretoria, at the pair’s first tournament together. The second semi-final will see Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay take on Ari Sanchez and Andrea Ustero, who earned their places in the last four with victories over Marta Ortega and Sofia Araujo (7-5 4-6 6-1) and Bea Caldera and Carmen Goenaga (7-6 6-4), respectively.