The Albanian event has gone down in history as one of the tournaments supported by the FIP with the greatest expectation and level in the categories of this sport. As it is the fourth category that grants the most points for the international ranking, the competition included the participation of several of the best padel rackets on the planet. However, The big favorites in the men’s category, Mike Yanguas and Franco Stupaczuk, ended up fulfilling the predictions by lifting the title in Tirana. For its part, Marina Guinart and Vero Virseda made a big splash in the women’s team after defeating Alejandra Alonso and Alejandra Salazar to emerge victorious from the Albanian capital.
Carlos Pozzoni’s pupils faced this FIP Platinum with the added pressure of being in need of victories ahead of a stage that is presumed to be decisive in the season. An injection of morale before the imminent Rome Major after chaining several tournaments in which they had failed to put the two best couples in the world in real trouble. The Spanish-Argentine duo debuted, suffering notably against José Antonio García Diestro and Ignacio Piotto. They worked hard again to come back and defeat Lucas Campagnolo and Momo González in the quarterfinal round, and they beat Maxi Arce and Álex Arroyo with a little more solvency in the semifinals. Without deploying an excessively brilliant version, but making the most of the stripes to stand in the final.
The four finalists of the FIP Platinum from Albania.
On the other side of the table the big surprises of the week were unleashed. Jon Sanz and Coki Nieto, who also started out as clear candidates to fight for the crownsaid goodbye at the first opportunity after losing in the initial round against David Gala and Enzo Jensen. The very young Madrid-Italian duo, which was already crowned in the Next Gen tournament of the Hexagon Cup in its inaugural edition, became the great cheerleader of the tournament. Don’t settle for knocking down one of the best couples in the world, They continued devouring rounds against Álex Ruiz and Juanlu Esbrí to sneak into the semifinals. With the feat already signed, the ambition of these two jewels of international padel led them to sign another memorable performance for remove Martín Di Nenno and Jairo Bautista from the competition.
The grand final, despite the astronomical distance that marks the classification, turned out to be a tremendously even and electric duel. Gala and Jensen demonstrated from the first game that what happened in the previous days was not related to chance and exhibited amazing potential. Gala’s blocks at the net along with his reliability from the back of the court were a real headache for Stupaczuk unable to find winning shots with continuity.
Jensen, for his part, had a very interesting cross-punching duel against Yanguas. The one from Motril punished with his classic viper while the transalpine player replied with the curler and the shot from three meters. In that exchange of blows, Pozzoni’s men scored the first set 6-4, but their opponents returned the draw in the electronic with the same result in the second set.
In the final part of the clash, Mike and Franco’s experience in maximum pressure scenarios was a determining factor in waking up the combative Gala and Jensen from sleep, who did not hand over their weapons at any time. With a final 7-5 in the third set, Yanguas and Stupaczuk were proclaimed champions on Albanian lands. In this way, the couple reaps a haul of 300 points for their locker and, above all, magnificent competitive sensations for the next Premier Padel stops.
Guinart and Virseda impose their law on the women’s team
In the women’s side of the tournament, the first two couples on the registration list fulfilled the logic of the predictions by qualifying for the last match of the draw. Alejandra Alonso and Alejandra Salazar advanced without excessive setbacks to the semifinalsa round in which they were forced to work piecework to break the resistance of Aranzazu Osoro and Victoria Iglesias. On the other side of the picture, Marina Guinart and Vero Virseda also showed spectacular solidityalthough they needed to go to the third set to leave the youngsters Dal Pozzo and Rodríguez on the way to the final.
Guinart and Virseda celebrating the title.
For both projects, the final was presented as an ideal opportunity not only to establish themselves among the eight best couples in the Race and distance themselves from their pursuers, but also to hitting the table after a somewhat irregular start to the year in its results.
In the championship game, Marina Guinart and Vero Virseda took to the track with one more gear and it didn’t take long for them to express their tactical superiority in the light. The first set was very even and ended up being decided by small details with a tight 7-5. In the second set, however, Guinart and Virseda unquestionably imposed their ball rhythm, dismantling the rival attacks and forcing numerous unforced errors on ‘Las Alejandras’ side. With a resounding 6-1 final, the Catalan and the Toledo sealed the victory to be crowned the new queens of the FIP Platinum of Tirana.
