Day1. Winning start for Alfonso and Libaak: Gonza and Tino earn a clash with Coello and Tapia

The many new partnerships are among the main talking points of the Pretoria Premier Padel P1, the first Premier Padel tournament ever held in South Africa. One of them, Gonza Alfonso and Tino Libaak, began their campaign with a 6-1 6-2 victory over local wild cards Egmond Van Heerden and Jason Blakey Milner. The win sets up a second-round meeting for the two Argentines with Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia, who will begin their quest for a sixth consecutive title on Wednesday. Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan, meanwhile, will face Juani Rubini and Maxi Sanchez, who defeated brothers Nuno and Miguel Deus 6-4 6-4.

 

The first round will be completed on Tuesday, when the women’s tournament will also get underway. A total of 18 matches will be played from 9 a.m. CEST across the three courts inside the SunBet Arena. On Centre Court, there will be a special moment for two South African pairs: Linge Steenkamp and Zoe Kruger will take on qualifiers Marta Borrero and Caterina Baldi, while Warren Kuhn and Adam Van Harte will close the programme against another pair coming through qualifying, Pablo Reina and Marcel Font. On Court 3, lucky losers Tamara Pieters and Simone Roets will face Martina Fassio and Raquel Eugenio.