Day2. Gonzalez-Garcia, lucky losers into the round of 16. A dream day for Aragon-Roglan

Lucky loser: the name says it all. Defeated, but fortunate. Marcos Gonzalez and Diego Garcia had lost the decisive qualifying round at the Premier Padel Dubai P1, but were admitted to the main draw following the withdrawal of Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia. Gonzalez and Garcia, the latter having also won the Gijon P2 in 2025, made the most of their good fortune, beating Alex Chozas and Juani Rubini 6-4 3-6 7-6. They had trailed 4-0 in the tie-break and saved three match points from 3-6 before securing their place in the round of 16, where they will face Gonza Alfonso and Tino Libaak, who beat Tolito Aguirre and Pablo Lijó 6-3 6-4. The other major upset of the day came from qualifiers Manu Aragon and Albert Roglan. After losing the first set 6-0 against Paquito Navarro and Martin Di Nenno, they turned the match around to win 0-6 6-4 6-2 against the number 4 seeds. Number 2 seeds Juan Lebron and Leo Augsburger were also pushed hard, having to come from a set down against Manuel Castaño and Pol Hernandez before winning 4-6 6-3 6-3 and maintaining their status as favourites, following the absences of Coello/Tapia and Chingotto/Galan, and today’s elimination of Di Nenno and Navarro. Franco Stupaczuk and Jon Sanz, the highest seeds in the top half of the draw, benefited from the retirement of Arnau Ayats and Emilio Chamero when the score was already 6-3 5-1.

 

WOMEN In the women’s draw, number 5 seeds Marta Ortega and Sofia Araujo, number 6 seeds Tamara Icardo and Claudia Jensen, and number 7 seeds Ale Alonso and Marina Guinart all began with victories. The latter pair took another step towards the Finals with a 7-5 6-2 win over Jana Montes and Marta Barrera. Thursday will see the debut of the world’s top four pairs and a large part of the team led by Carolina Navarro, who lifted the FIP World Cup in Doha last Saturday. Delfi Brea, the only Argentinian in the group, and Gemma Triay will open the programme at 12:00 local time (10:00 CET) against Marta Talavan and Sofia Saiz. It will also be a day of action for Paula Josemaria and Bea Gonzalez, who face Martina Fassio and Veronica Virseda; Ari Sanchez and Andrea Ustero, who take on Leti Manquillo and Lucia Sainz; and Claudia Fernandez and Martina Calvo, who meet Jessica Castelló and Laia Rodriguez.