Premier Padel Andalucia Malaga P1 Brea-Triay and Coello-Tapia: two different paths to the same throne

A marathon and a one-sided final: two very different routes to the title at the Premier Padel Andalucia Malaga P1. At the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena, the world's No. 1 pairs claimed the trophies. Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay lifted a title again for the first time since the Rome Major (their fourth title of the season and first P1 after their two P2 victories in Gijon and Cancun) following a final lasting more than three hours. Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia, meanwhile, claimed their fifth consecutive title after Rome, Valencia, Valladolid and Bordeaux, wrapping up the final in less than an hour. A Spanish player and an Argentine crowned in the women's draw, a Spaniard and an Argentine victorious in the men's draw, as the football World Cup final approaches.

 

WOMEN Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay denied Bea Gonzalez, alongside Paula Josemaria, the chance to win in her home city. Brea and Triay - both celebrating their 20th Premier Padel title and 13th together as a pair - prevailed 7-5 3-6 7-6, defeating the No. 2 seeds for only the second time (the first came in Cancun) after five consecutive defeats. It was an extremely balanced contest, particularly in the opening and deciding sets, with the third settled by the finest of margins when Gemma's smash forced Paulita to touch the net. Josemaria and Gonzalez were unable to convert their dominance in attacking statistics into victory despite recording 25 smashes to 20 and 71 winners to 67. Brea and Triay celebrated with their national flags. 'I'm very happy, thank you Malaga', said Triay. 'It was an incredibly tough match, very demanding mentally, and Paulita and Bea played brilliantly. We knew we would have to maintain an extremely high level to win, and we managed to do that until the end. It's wonderful to win a tournament again, and even more special to do it in Spain in front of my family and so many friends'. Brea added: 'More than a padel match, it was a show. We would have embraced each other even if we had lost. There is so, so much work behind this victory. Thank you to the Malaga crowd for all their support'.

 

MEN While the women's final lasted more than three hours, the men's final was over in just 53 minutes, with Coello and Tapia defeating Juan Lebron and Leo Augsburger 6-2 6-2. Lebron and Augsburger may have felt the effects of their marathon semi-final victory over Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan the previous day. After the first four meetings between the pairs had all gone to three sets, this was only the third time Coello and Tapia had prevailed in straight sets, allowing the world No. 1 pair to successfully defend the title they won last year. 'Thank you Malaga for supporting us', said Coello. 'I'm very proud of our tournament and the way we approached it. We've been playing at an incredible level for several weeks now, but congratulations also to Juan and Leo for reaching the final'. It was title No. 60 for Tapia. 'After losing our last final, we did well to put it behind us and raise our level', said the Argentine. 'Now we hope to continue enjoying what has already been a great Sunday'. Inevitably, there was also a reference to the football World Cup final, where Coello and Tapia will naturally be supporting different national teams.

 

Before the summer break, the Qatar Airways Premier Padel Tour will return in one week's time with two new P1 tournaments making their debut on the calendar: Pretoria (South Africa) and London.