Almaty, top seeds hold firm: Saturday’s semis set for excitement

Four semi-finals not to be missed at Add Padel in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where the second FIP Gold event of the season enters its decisive stages, leading to the title and the 150 points available in the FIP Ranking. Following Friday’s round of 16 and quarter-finals, the top two pairs in the men’s draw continue to perform solidly: Martin Di Nenno and Momo Gonzalez have conceded just six games in total, first with a double 6-1 win over Guerrero/Calvo, and then with a 6-2 6-2 victory against Gutierrez/Matus. The top seeds now face one of the most anticipated matches of Saturday’s programme: a clash with Curro Cabeza and Mariano Gonzalez (5), who, after defeating Fernandez/Tierno in the morning, secured their semi-final place with a hard-fought three-set win over José Diestro/Maxi Sanchez Blasco (6-3 6-7 6-3). For Gonzalez, this marks another significant milestone, following his recent achievement of becoming the first Paraguayan to enter the world top 100 just two weeks ago.

 

Javi Leal and Pablo Lijó (2) will open the men’s semi-finals, scheduled from 16:00 local time (13:00 CET), after wins over Calzada/Calzada and Prins/De Kroon. They will face the young pairing of 20-year-old Pablo Sanchez and 19-year-old Adrian Naranjo, winners last month of the FIP Bronze events in Singapore and Nairobi.

 

WOMEN All top four seeded pairs in the women’s draw have progressed to the semi-finals, scheduled from 12:00 (9:00 CET). Following a 6-0 6-2 win over Teresa Navarro and Ekaterina Nikitina, Victoria Iglesias and Aranzazu Osoro (1) will face Jimena Velasco and Marta Barrera (4), who defeated Virginia Riera and Dilara Torssell (6-2 6-4). Lucia Sainz and Ana Nogueira, seeded second, reached the semi-finals after a tightly contested three-set victory over Carlotta Casali and Ana Dominguez (6-7 7-6 6-4) and will now take on Lorena Rufo and Jessica Castelló (3), who overcame Marta Talavan and Daria Kucheriavaia in the quarter-finals.