Alejandra Salazar Bengoechea and Gemma Triay celebrate after winning their match.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Ramon Agenjo, President of the World Padel Tour, praised Abu Dhabi’s hosting of the Modon Abu Dhabi Padel Master.

The event serves as the World Padel Tour’s opening tournament for this year.

The Modon Abu Dhabi Padel Master is organised by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism in collaboration with Global MICE Organisation Limited (GMOL Events).

Modon Properties is the title sponsor for the UAE’s newest international sporting event, while other key sponsors include Emirates Post Group, McDonald’s, Bullpadel, Hilton, Estrella Damm, and Head, among others.

After attending the tournament at Bab Al Nojoum on Hudayriyat Island, Agenjo said: “I am delighted that the World Padel Tour is hosting a Master tournament in Abu Dhabi, an international destination loved by all, with its welcoming citizens. Hosting the Modon Abu Dhabi Padel Master on Hudayriyat Island has been a worthwhile starting point for the 2023 World Padel Tour season as we celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the tour.

“This tournament is of historical significance as we witnessed the first Arabs to ever play in a World Padel Tour Main Draw. We are grateful to the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the Department of Abu Dhabi Culture and Tourism, Modon Properties, and all the partners that have contributed to organising a world-class sporting event.”

“We have witnessed a hotly-contested set of matches from a beautiful destination, such as Bab Al Nojoum, which is surrounded by the pristine blue waters of Hudayriyat Island, making the experience one to remember. The UAE is proving itself to be a padel-adoring nation and we greatly hope that the sport continues to thrive here after this,” Agenjo added.

The quarter-finals, held yesterday, was where the heat really picked up at the Modon Abu Dhabi Padel Master.

Franco Stupaczuk and Martin Di Nenno eliminated fellow Argentinian champions Fernando Belasteguín and Carlos Daniel ‘Sanyo’ Gutierrez in a face-to-face that ended in 6-3 / 6-3 victory.

The win takes Stupaczuk and Di Nenno into the semi-finals, where they will face world number ones Juan Lebron and Alejandro Galan, who defeated Jorge Nieto Ruiz and Pablo Lima, 6-4 / 6-1, in the battle that closed the day.

Eleventh-seeded duo Gonzalo Rubio Perez and Javier Ruiz Gonzalez were taken to three sets by their lower-ranked opponents Ivan Ramirez Del Campo and Pablo Cardona Huerta – 6-4 / 2-6 / 6-2– in the morning on centre court, breaking the debutant duos unbeaten streak of 11 matches in the year.

The duel between Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia and Pincho Fernandez and Jose García Diestro for the second direct ticket to the semifinals began with four straight games for the former, who barely looked back throughout, eventually taking the match comfortably 6-4 / 6-2.

In the women’s category, world number ones Alejandra Salazar Bengoechea and Gemma Triay Pons made relatively easy work of newly paired fifth seeds Lucia Sainz Pelegri and Aranzazu Osoro Ulrich – 6-4 / 6-2.

The Aleyeto twins have been defeated. In a match that went to a second set tie-breaker, the lower ranked Jessica Castello Lopez and Claudia Jensen Sirvent booked their place in the semi-finals - 4-6 / 6-7(2).