The official Men’s and Women’s draws for this week’s inaugural Dubai Premier Padel P1 took place at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium today, throwing up a quirk or two sure to stoke local interest.
With the much-anticipated event officially getting under way this afternoon with a host of qualifiers competing for a place in the first-round proper, the draws decided the route to the final for the 32 Women’s pairings, as well as 48 Men’s duos.
Top-seeded Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia – the Men’s World No1 and No2 respectively – are on course for a quarterfinal tie with No8 seeds Lucas Bergamini of Brazil and Spain’s Javier Garrido, but it is further down the men’s draw where the local interest lies. Inigo Jofre, who competes under the UAE flag, and Argentine partner Juan Tello are seeded 13th and received a bye – and in the second round, they will now face a Wildcard pairing from the Middle East.
Representing the UAE, wildcards Sergio Icardo and Francisco Jurado Sosa are up against Egypt’s Mohammed Aboulkassem and Youssef Hossam, with the winners facing a second-round tie against Jofre and Tello. Emirati Fares Al Janahi and Argentine partner Julian Lacamoire meanwhile will fancy their chances of progressing after being drawn against qualifiers in their opening match.
Looking deeper into the draw, the UAE contingent is on course for an eye-catching Round of 16 tie against Spanish star Juan Lebron and Argentine teammate Martin Di Nenno, while on the other side of the bracket, UAE flag-flier Arnau Ayats and Spanish partner Pablo Garcia Rodrigo face Juanlu Esbri and Francisco Gil in the first round.
Jose Luis Martinez, Tournament Supervisor at Premier Padel, conducted the draw in front of competition officials and gathered media. He said fans can expect an “amazing week of padel” given the “extremely strong draw”.
“It’s the first time for Premier Padel here in Dubai and it’s an amazing place,” said Martinez. “We’ve already experienced padel here, the atmosphere is very good, and the venue is impressive, so I think we’re going to enjoy a great week. We have a draw with very strong pairs and the quarterfinals hold much promise with Coello-Tapia potentially against Bergamini-Garrido – that could be one of the toughest quarterfinals. People will enjoy it.
“The local wildcards are strong pairs too and we have local UAE representatives. Such is the draw, at least one UAE player will advance to the next round. And then, if the draw allows it, they could play against Di Nenno and Lebron, so it’s very exciting. We can all look forward to an exciting tournament.”
In the women’s draw, top-ranked Spanish pair Ariana Sanchez Fallada and Paula Josemaria Martin face compatriots Melania Merino Saez and Esther Carnicero Martin in their first-round match, while No2 seeds Gemma Triay Pons and Claudia Fernandez Sanchez will meet Barbara Las Heras and Sandra Bellver Fructuoso in their opening match.
Monday’s action at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium will see the second round of qualifying, with eight women’s ties, as well as eight more men’s matches – including an all-Spanish tie between Mario Ortega and Andres Fernandez Lancha against Pedro Melendez and Carlos Marti.
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