Dubai: Innovate stunned fancied Sky Dive Dubai while Surprise got the better of Quattro Centre on the second night of the padel tennis competition at the third Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament being held at the NAS Sports Complex.
With big-hitting Mohammad Adil Asatti of Syria in their ranks, much was expected of the Sky Dive Dubai team. But Innovate came up with all the right answers as they played like a true close-knit unit to outclass the Sky Dive Dubai outfit in straight sets 25-16, 25-19, 25-21.
Sky Dive was blown off by a strong start from Innovate. But with Asatti coming into his own, Sky Dive slowly started finding their rhythm, the Syrian player doing well in attack and defence at the net. It was the early momentum that was crucial to Innovate taking the first two sets 25-16 and 25-19, but Sky Dive staged a recovery in the third as they led 9-5 and 12-7.
However, led by Bahrain national team star Nasser Mansour, Innovate caught up at 14-14 and took the lead at 17-14 to run away with the set and match 25-21.
“We have spent a few days training together and that has helped us gel as a team,” Mansour told Gulf News.
“We had laid down a plan where we would put the early pressure on our opponents and I think that this pressure got to them,” he added.
There was never a dull moment at the packed indoor NAS hall as Surprise warded off a stiff challenge from Quattro Centre to win 30-28, 16-25, 29-27, 25-17 in the second encounter of the night.
The first set went all the way with both teams in with a chance to shut it out. But ultimately it was Surprise taking it 30-28, only to see Quattro bounce back and win the second rather easily 25-16. In the third set, once again it was a keen tussle until a wayward spike from Abdullah Al Ali saw Surprise getting their nose ahead. The fourth set was easier as Surprise powered to a 7-0 lead and then held on to win set and match 25-17.
Meanwhile, Alexander Farquharson and Javier Lopez Garcia continued with their winning run with a second successive triumph in the men’s doubles Padel Tennis at the 2015 Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament.
Farquharson and Lopez Garcia, who had opened with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Guillermo Villafane and Jordi Hernandez in straight sets on Sunday, next got the better of Eisa Sharif and Mohammad Al Janahi 6-2, 6-0 to maintain their clean record.
Emilio Misas and Pedro Rios also tasted success in their opening encounter as they defeated Juan De Dios and Raul Cuesta 6-0, 6-3.
Earlier on Sunday, in the teams’ competition, the Abdullah Al Maktoum team got the better of The Pretenders 2-0 with the two pairs winning 6-3, 7-6 and 6-2, 6-4. And on Monday, Valencia Team easily defeated the ZATA Team 2-0 with their pairings winning 6-0, 6-3 and 6-0, 6-1.
