Similar to tennis, padel has an oddity in that fewer matches mean a bigger show as, as time passes, only the best players survive. On the sweltering Thursday of the round of 16, which will feature the first weekly clashes between the top seeds in an attempt to secure a spot for the championship weekend, the BNL Italy Major will take note of this.Starting at nine in the morning on the Centrale, the Italians will take on the n. 2 Gemma Triay and Claudia Fernandez, who have just won two titles in a succession, in the match that will be the most significant in Giorgia Marchetti’s career (together with Lea Godallier).Navarro/Lebron will also compete in the morning; however, they will need to outperform Bergamini/Ruiz.
The matches
The most anticipated events start at 6 p.m.: the top-ranked Sanchez/Josemaria pair, followed by the first two men’s circuit couples who were promoted to Centrale following their Pietrangeli debut. While Tapia/Coello will face Barahona/Zapata to close the day, Chingotto/Galan will take on the unexpected Bautista/Guerrero. Once more, the programming is split into two bands on Pietrangeli and Campo 7, with a 6 p.m. afternoon restart. Seeing the awful infants Ustero/Alonso in action against Mesa/Ruiz Soto, who killed Salazar/Castillon, will be an occasion to see. Next, Fernando Belasteguin and Juan Tello will take the field against Campagnolo/Leal. Then, against Ruiz/Cardona in the final match, it was the “Superpibes” Di Nenno and Stupaczuk.
It is almost unnecessary to mention that Court 7 and Court 8, which are adjacent to the players’ restaurant, will also include excellent padel at the Foro Italico. The padel sauce menu consists of just one dish, but it is sure to please even pickiest eaters: at 7 p.m., the gifted Arroyo/Alonso will take on the previous world champions Sanyo Gutierrez and Maxi Sanchez.
