Galan and Lebron celebrate after winning their match at the Modon Abu Dhabi Padel Master.

Day three of the Modon Abu Dhabi Padel Master witnessed an incredible Round of 16, where the world’s top men and women players battled it out to confirm their spot into the quarter-finals.

In a match lasting almost 2.5 hours, the newly formed female Spanish pairing of Jessica Castello and Claudia Jensen eliminated reigning Danish Open champions Marta Ortega and Bea Gonzalez, making them the highest-seeded (3) team to get knocked out so far.

There 4/6, 6/4, 6/3 success allows the outsiders (23 and 21 ranked, respectively) to play their first ever quarter-finals together, where they will face the Alayeto twins, who were victorious over the Caldera/Goenaga duo — 7/6, 6/1.

On the center court in the morning, women’s favourites Alejandra Salazar Bengoechea and Gemma Triay Pons gave twentieth-ranked Spanish compatriots Marta Talaván Ruiz and Lorena Rufo Ortiz a tough time, coming out on top 6/4, 6/4.

On the men’s side of the tournament, Jeranimo Gonzalez Luque and Alejandro Ruiz Granados lost after playing three sets to the lower ranked Antonio Fernandez Cano and José Antonio García Diestro 3/6, 6/0, 4-6.

Elsewhere, world number threes Fernando Belasteguin and Carlos Daniel Gutierrez progressed to the next round with a 6/4, 6/4 win, while Ivan Ramírez Del Campo and Pablo Cardona Huerta caused a major upset knocking out the higher-ranked twosome of Javier Garrido Gomez and Federico Chingotto.

In the final battle of the day, long-time world champions and fan favourites Alejandro Galan and Juan Lebron played a nail-biting match dropping the first set before demonstrating their class in a comeback to defeat the Yanguas/Arroyo pair in just over two hours with a final score of 3/6, 6/3, 6/2.

Present in the audience was Spanish Royalty Felipe Juan Froilan de Todos los Santos de Marichalar y Borbon, widely known as Froilan, who has been calling Abu Dhabi his official residence recently.