With every passing hour, the stands at the FIP Platinum Albania in Skënderbeg Square continue to fill up. There are many new padel fans in Tirana, but also many of the world’s top players, who today played their opening matches of the tournament. The men’s and women’s draws are now set for the quarter-finals, scheduled for tomorrow starting at 9.30am CEST. The number 1 seeds opened and closed the day: Ale Salazar and Ale Alonso began the round of 16 with a double 6-2 win over Camila Fassio and Anastasiia Rhyzova, while Franco Stupaczuk and Mike Yanguas ended it with a 4-6 7-5 6-3 victory against José Diestro and Nacho Piotto.
In between came confirmations and surprises: the performance of the day belonged to David Gala and Enzo Jensen, who, after losing the opening set 6-0, defeated the number 2 seeds Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz 0-6 7-6 6-4. Another strong result came from Maxi Arce and Alex Arroyo, who beat Javi Garrido and Lucas Bergamini (5) 6-4 6-4, while the number 4 seeds Martin Di Nenno and Jairo Bautista won their opening match in straight sets against Adrian Naranjo and Pablo Sanchez.
The longest match of the day came in the women’s draw, where Julieta Bidahorria and Marta Caparros prevailed over Araceli Martinez and Laura Lujan 6-7 6-3 6-4 after three hours and 23 minutes. Shorter matches instead for the number 2 seeds Marina Guinart and Veronica Virseda, the number 3 seeds Bea Caldera and Carmen Goenaga, and the number 4 seeds Aranzazu Osoro and Victoria Iglesias. Two Italian players also reached the quarter-finals: Giulia Dal Pozzo, who alongside Nuria Rodriguez eliminated the number 5 seeds Martina Fassio and Raquel Eugenio, and Carolina Orsi, who partnered Patty Llaguno to defeat Alba Perez and Alba Gallardo.