Day3. Castaño and Goenaga produce the upset of the day. Round of 16 matches on Thursday

Manuel Castaño has been regarded as one of padel’s brightest prospects for quite some time. Still not yet 18 years old, he once again showcased his talent in the second round of the Pretoria Premier Padel P1. Partnering Enrique Goenaga, Castaño defeated sixth seeds Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz 7-6 6-7 6-4 to book a place in the round of 16, which begins at 9 a.m. There were other surprises during the day as well, including the victory (6-2 6-4) of Tolito Aguirre and Pablo Garcia over 14th seeds Javi Barahona and Alex Chozas. Flavio Abbate and Alvaro Montiel also made the most of their opportunity after entering the draw as lucky losers in place of Franco Stupaczuk and Mike Yanguas, defeating Marc Quilez and Fede Mouriño 6-3 6-4. The top seeds all made winning starts: Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia beat Alex Chozas and Tino Libaak 6-4 6-4, Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan defeated Juani Rubini and Maxi Sanchez 6-2 7-6, while Juan Lebron and Leo Augsburger overcame Pablo Lijó and Xisco Gil 6-4 6-3. The world number ones will now face Edu Alonso and Aimar Goñi, while the ‘Chingalan’ pair will take on Javi Garrido and Lucas Bergamini.

 

WOMEN Thursday’s programme, starting at 10 a.m. local time, will also see the debut of the world’s top pairs in the women’s draw. Julieta Bidahorria and Marta Caparros will face Claudia Fernandez and Martina Calvo in the opening match on Centre Court, followed by Bea Gonzalez and Paula Josemaria against Marta Talavan and Jessica Castelló, and Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay against Nuria Rodriguez and Giulia Dal Pozzo.