– There are scenarios that, for some mystical reason, transform certain athletes into invincibles. For Alejandro Galán and Federico Chingotto, the center court of the Italy Major in Rome is that garden where they feel like absolute owners of the panorama. The number two couple in the world sealed their place in the grand final of the tournament after defeating Juan Lebron and Leo Augsburger in the semifinals by 7-6 and 6-3, in a match that was resolved in one hour and 19 minutes of play.
The plan of the duo led by Jorge Martínez went perfectly, ensuring the opportunity to revalidate the crowns that they already won consecutively in the 2024 and 2025 editions, occasions in which they beat Agustín Tapia and Arturo Coello in the decisive instance.
An aerial battle under the Roman sun
The first set was a true treatise on tactical survival. The heat and supersonic speed of the ball turned the track into an ultra-fast surface. In that context, proposing a game from the rest was a chimera and breaking services became an almost impossible mission. The exchanges were fleeting: poisoned serves, a first volley of containment and lightning shots that made the ball fly.
With no breaks on the scoreboard, absolute parity inevitably led to the tiebreak. There, where tension freezes the wrists, the experience of “Chingalán” came to light in the smallest details to win the tiebreaker by a tight 7-5.
The turning point of the match came early in the second set, right at one-all. It was the moment in which Galán’s recovery capacity and Chingotto’s cunning caused the short circuit of his rivals. Three consecutive failures in Juan Lebron’s hitting dynamited the service of the number 4 couple in the world.
El Lobo crashed into Ale Galán, who made two huge recoveries – one for three meters and another from inside the court – that ended up driving Lebron to despair, who closed the game by sending a layup directly into the net. It is known on the circuit: once Galán and Chingotto bite and achieve the break, the match is over.
Although the process did not enjoy the overwhelming dominance that they showed just fifteen days ago in the Buenos Aires semifinals,
Chingalá” reinforced its evident superiority over a couple of Augsburger and Lebron who have only been able to decipher their game once (in the P2 of Brussels).
Galán, the absolute owner of Rome
Beyond the couple’s present, the victory magnifies a statistical fact of the time for the Madrid native: Ale Galán will play his fourth final in Rome in five tournaments played. He has become the top champion of the competition with three titles (2022 with Lebron, and 2024-2025 with Chingotto). His only historic setback in the Italian capital occurred in 2023, when he said goodbye in the quarterfinals against Belasteguín and Yanguas.
With the ticket in their pocket, the current champions await rivals, who will emerge from the crucial clash between the big favorites Agustín Tapia and Arturo Coello versus Momo González and Lucas Campagnolo.
After the match, Fede Chingotto analyzed the panorama with the cold mind that characterizes him: “The rivals? I don’t know if there are preferences, yes we will look at it to analyze how they play especially because it will take place in the last turn, perhaps already without sun and with a somewhat slower track. But obviously with the peace of mind that we have at least done today’s homework.”
This Sunday’s event in Rome opens a golden opportunity. Although Mathematics dictates that the privileged position at the top of the ranking will not be altered immediatelythe loot is gigantic: the winner will take 2,000 points and the runner-up 1,200. With a new victory, Galán and Chingotto would continue to close the gap in a fierce race for number one in the world that promises strong emotions until the end of the season.
