Dubai: The four pairings for the semi-finals of the Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament padel tennis competition were confirmed late on Wednesday with a round of matches still remaining.
World champion Juan Martin Diaz and his partner Maxi Sanchez made it safely through to the last-four thanks to a 6-4, 6-0 win against Uriel Botello and Javier Concepcion at the NAS Sports Complex. Diaz and Sanchez had stunned defending champions Martin Di Nenno and Franco Stupaczuk in their opener on Tuesday.
Also confirming their place in the semi-finals from the same group was the duo of Jordi Munoz and Aday Santana with a hard-fought 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Di Nenno and Stupaczuk. The group placings will be finalised after Diaz and Sanchez clash with Munoz and Santana.
In the second group, Adrian Allemandi and Miguel Lamperti eased their way into the last four along with Sanyo Gutierrez and defending world champion Juani Mieres.
Allemandi and Lamperti got past Fernando Poggi and Jaime Bergareche 7-5, 6-2, while Mieres and Gutierrez were made to fight for a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 win by Alejandro Ruiz and Matias Martina.
Meanwhile, Dubai 2021 became the first team to confirm their place in the volleyball semi-finals while knocking defending champions Zabeel out of the competition.
Dubai 2021 overcame a resolute Zabeel 3-2 to book their place in the last four from Group A with two wins from as many matches.
The 12 participating teams have been divided into four groups and only the winners will reach the semi-finals, which are scheduled for July 7.
Wednesday’s match went into the early hours of Thursday, but it was brilliant entertainment for the full house of fans at the NAS Sports Complex.
Dubai 2021 made a smooth start to win the first two sets 25-21 and 25-17. But Zabeel staged a dramatic turnaround, winning the next two 27-25 and 28-26 to send the match into a decider.
The defending champions seemed to have the momentum going their way as they led 14-12, but they faltered, with Dubai 2021’s big-hitting Hamza Naqqah once again making the difference with his inch-perfect spikes. UAE national team player Rashid Ayoub then held on to his serve to bag the next three points and Dubai 2021 were safely home.
