Day 4. Guinart-Iglesias and Guerrero-Leal, the dream continues: an unmissable Saturday at the Foro Italico

It was a long, exciting day that kept padel fans glued to their seats at the Foro Italico’s Centre Court. Eight pairs still fighting for the two BNL Italy Major Premier Padel titles: with IOC President Thomas Bach in Rome, welcomed by FIP President Luigi Carraro, there could be no better showcase for padel, with closely contested matches decided by just a few points.

MEN In their third tournament as a pair after Asuncion and Buenos Aires, Fran Guerrero and Javi Leal reached their first Major semifinal, which for Leal – in tears after the victory – is also his first ever in the Premier circuit, while Guerrero had already reached it last year in Kuwait. The victory came after a comeback and at the end of a two-hour and 35-minute marathon against Coki Nieto and Mike Yanguas (4), who had already been forced into a third set in their opening match and were defeated 5-7, 6-3, 7-6. In the top half of the draw, Guerrero and Leal (seeded 13th) will face the number 1 seeds Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia, who, as in the Buenos Aires final, defeated Paquito Navarro and Lucas Bergamini (6-4 6-2). Coello/Tapia vs. Guerrero/Leal will start not before 8 p.m., while the other semifinal will start not before 5 p.m., between two players who have made history in padel and the BNL Italy Major, having been the first to win it: on one side, Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan, who with a 7-6 6-3 win over Alex Arroyo and Inigo Jofre can still hope to defend their 2024 title, and on the other, Juan Lebron and Franco Stupaczuk, who defeated Momo Gonzalez and Jon Sanz in the third set tiebreak.

WOMEN In the women’s draw, Marina Guinart and Victoria Iglesias’ dream week is not over yet. The tournament’s 11th seeds, in the quarterfinal between surprise pairs, ended Marta Barrera and Marta Caparros’ impressive tournament, defeating them 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 26 minutes. Contending with the winners of the CUPRA FIP Finals for a place in the final will be Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay, who, after a double 6-0 in the round of 16 against Raquel Eugenio and Maria Virginia Riera, left only four games (6-3, 6-1) to Tamara Icardo and Claudia Jensen. While the bottom half of the semi-finals, which will open the programme at 4 p.m. CET, is surprising due to the presence of Guinart and Iglesias, the top half will see the two pairs who were the favourites to reach Saturday at the start of the draw. On one side will be the 2024 queens Ari Sanchez and Paula Josemaria, who nevertheless struggled to eliminate Marta Ortega and Ale Alonso 7-6, 5-7, 6-2; on the other, Delfi Brea and Bea Gonzalez with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Bea Caldera and Carmen Goenaga.