Rotterdam P2: Galán and Chingotto crash out as seeds fall in Netherlands

The CUPRA Rotterdam P2 has turned into the tournament of the upsets. On Friday's quarter-final day, three of the top four men's seeds were sent home, and the biggest casualty was the No. 2 pair of Ale Galán and Fede Chingotto, beaten 6-4, 6-4 by fifth seeds Franco Stupaczuk and Jon Sanz.

Stupa and Sanz end a long run

According to El Neverazo, the match stayed tight early before Stupaczuk and Sanz took control with a break late in the opening set. Galán and Chingotto clawed back one break in the second, but the Argentine-Spanish duo closed it out in straight sets to reach their first Premier Padel semi-final as a partnership.

The result is significant beyond one week in the Netherlands. Galán and Chingotto had not lost before the semi-finals since Cancún in March, the Spanish outlet notes. They are chasing Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia in the ranking, and a recent Padel Addict analysis put the gap at just over 3,000 points. An early exit at a 500-point event will not change that picture dramatically, but it does remove an opportunity to chip away at it.

Paquito and Lebrón also out

The other upsets came in the same session. Eighth seeds Momo González and Lucas Campagnolo came from a set down to beat Paquito Navarro and Martín Di Nenno 2-6, 7-6, 7-5 in a contest that, according to Padel Magazine, lasted 2 hours 49 minutes. Navarro and Di Nenno had arrived in good form after a semi-final at the Paris Major. For González and Campagnolo it is a second semi-final together, after their run at the Rome Major.

Sixth seeds Mike Yanguas and Coki Nieto also beat Juan Lebrón and Leo Augsburger 7-6, 6-3. They won the first-set tie-break 7-0 and jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second set, as Padel Addict reported.

Coello and Tapia were the only top seeds left standing, and even they were pushed. Argentines Tino Libaak and Gonza Alfonso took the first set before the world No. 1s turned it around 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

The women's draw follows the seedings

The women's quarter-finals were calmer. Top seeds Gemma Triay and Delfi Brea beat Ale Salazar and Aranza Osoro 6-0, 6-4. Second seeds Paula Josemaría and Bea González came back from a set down against Marta Ortega and Sofía Araújo to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Ari Sánchez and Andrea Ustero ended the run of Virginia Riera and Julieta Bidahorria 6-3, 6-2, while Claudia Fernández and Martina Calvo beat Claudia Jensen and Claudia Escacena 6-3, 7-5.

Saturday's semi-finals

According to the schedule published by Padel Addict, play starts at 12:00 Spanish time with Fernández/Calvo against Josemaría/González. Coello/Tapia against González/Campagnolo follows at around 13:30. In the evening session, Triay/Brea meet Sánchez/Ustero from about 18:30, and the day ends with Yanguas/Nieto against Stupaczuk/Sanz, so one of the two surprise packages is guaranteed a place in Sunday's final.

In Spain the semi-finals are on Red Bull TV (free) and Movistar Plus. There is little time to recover afterwards: the Germany P2 runs from 5 to 11 October, followed by the Milan P1 from 12 to 18 October and the Kuwait Major from 26 to 31 October.