Dubai Padel Cup set for grandstand finale

Top seeds Lebron and Lamperti will face padel legend Belasteguin and rising star Coello in the final

The inaugural Dubai Padel Cup, a headline event of this year’s Dubai Fitness Challenge, is set for a grandstand finale following a sensational second day of elimination matches.

After two days of intense action on the exhibition series’ purpose-built court at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, the draw for Thursday’s final round will see the eight doubles pairings – comprising 14 international padel stars and two Dubai-based professionals – fight it out for places 1-8 in the overall standings.

Spain’s Juan Lebron, the world number one, and Argentina’s Miguel Lamperti will face Argentine legend Fernando Belasteguin and Spain’s Arturo Coello in the Dubai Padel Cup final, after the teams saw off Argentina’s Fernando Poggi and Spain’s Javier Garrido, and Dubai-based Javier Lopez and Sergio Icardo, respectively.

Lebron and Lamperti triumphed 6-4, 6-2, while Belasteguin and Coello clinched a ruthless 6-2, 6-2 victory in front of packed spectator galleries.

“I’m very, very happy,” said Lebron. “We play all over the world, but it is amazing to see this crowd loving padel in Dubai. It was a great match, with some spectacular plays and unreal shots. We want to show our best game in the final.”

Lebron’s playing partner Lamperti added: “It’s a real pleasure to be playing with the world number one, we have a great relationship on and off the court, and we’re going for the win in the final.”

After rolling back the years, the 42-year-old Belasteguin, who was ranked world number one for a record 16 years from 2002 to 2017, said: “We played a good match, very fast, we hope to play the same way in the final. We will need to be at our best to win, but we always play to win.”

Coello, the world number 17, could not hide his delight at his illustrious playing partner’s form: “It’s an honour to play with Bela, it’s the best experience of my career – he is a master in the story of padel. I have so much respect for him.”

After losing their semifinal matches, Poggi and Garrido will play NAS Sport Complex coaches Lopez and Icardo in the bronze medal match to settle third and fourth place overall.

“We had some great opportunities in both sets to recover, we lost, tomorrow is a new day. We come again to play for third-place, but we know Javi and Sergio will have a lot of home support” said Poggi.

Following a tough defeat, Lopez was realistic about the step up in quality: “It is an honour to be on a competitive court with an idol like Bela. Arturo and Bela have such amazing rhythm. These guys play top quality players every week, it’s a big difference. We have learned a lot tonight though and we’re looking forward to our final match.”

Positions 5-8 in the overall standings will also be decided on Thursday, with Argentine Luciana Capra and Spain’s Juan Mieres set to face Brazil’s Pablo Lima and Spain’s Javier Garrido Gomez in the fifth and sixth place play-off.

After sealing a dramatic super tiebreak to win 6-2, 1-6, 10-7, Capra was in a buoyant mood after notching his first Dubai Padel Cup victory.

“We feel very happy to win our first match in this amazing city and we hope we can entertain the crowd in our final match,” said the world number 14.

Argentina’s Adrian Allemandi and Spain’s Jorge ‘Coki’ Nieto will play Spanish duo Pablo Lijo and Juan Martin Diaz Martinez in the seventh and eighth place decider, after both doubles pairs lost their opening two matches.

“We controlled the match and we started very well. I was a little nervous on Tuesday because it was first time playing with Pablo Lima, one of the best players in history, but today I enjoyed it a lot more,” said Garrido.

His playing partner Lima was delighted with the opportunity to play in Dubai.

“It was a very good match, and I am very happy to be in Dubai - it’s a fantastic place. Javier is very fast and strong, I am happy to play with him in this friendly exhibition matches,” Lima said.

Ahead of the glamour finale on Thursday, Ahmed Hamada, Co-Founder of the Dubai Padel Cup, said the exhibition matches had lived up to their hype.

“We’re seeing a sensational response here at the court, and from the tens of thousands of people following the event on social media. With some major names contesting the finals, we have lit another fuse in the explosion of padel across Dubai, the UAE and the wider region,” Hamada said.