Padel
It was an emotional night for padel pros Alejandro Galán and Fede Chingotto, as their wit and exceptional resilience secured them a thrilling victory in Rome – and a career-first title as a duo.
'Chingalán' was the duo that was just too good to be beaten in Rome, despite the attacks from their rivals. Alejandro Galán and Fede Chingotto secured their first Premier Padel Major title together on Sunday in Italy after P1 and P2 victories recently. "I'm very happy to have been able to lift our first Major as a pair," Galán said after the match.
Following the end of his partnership with Juan Lebrón, Galán and new partner Chingotto had won the Brussels P2 event and then followed that up with a Mar Del Plata P1 title, before losing out to great rivals Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia in Santiago.
Galán & Chingotto secure first Padel Major title as a duo
At the famed Foro Italico sports complex in Italy's capital, second seeds Galán and Chingotto cruised through the draw and beat third seeds Martín Di Nenno and Franco Stupaczuk 6-2, 6-4 to reach the final, where they met Coello and Tapia for the sixth time in a 2024 final.
Despite Galán accidentally hitting Chingotto on the head early on, they got the crucial break in the first set and closed it out 6-4 on their first set point, with a Chingotto smash.
In the second set, Coello and Tapia came out strong and stormed through to level the match 6-1, with the second seeds digging in to stop the flow early in the third set of another classic final between the two pairs.
Chingotto feels like he's "living the dream"
Two years after winning his first Major in Rome, Galán, 28, said: "It's an incredible feeling. We know what happened last year, we couldn't enjoy this tournament because of Lebron's injury. I have to congratulate Federico for what he's done - really incredible."
Argentinian Chingotto added: "I think we are living a dream, no one can wake me up. I'm very, very happy. I want to congratulate everyone, obviously also our opponents. Ale and I are getting better and better as a couple, I'm still thinking about what we can do together."
After as many as 30,000 spectators registered throughout the tournament in Rome, there's now a week's break before the 2024 Premier Padel Tour resumes with a P2 event in Genoa. You can rewatch all the action from Italy on Red Bull TV.
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