Dubai: Top seeds Juani Mieres and Sanyo Gutierrez will meet fancied Juan Martin Diaz and Maxi Sanchez in the Padel Tennis final of the Third Nad Al Sheba Ramadan Sports Tournament.
Mieres, who teamed up with Diaz to win the 2014 World Championship in Palma de Mallorca, parted ways after their triumph. Mieres took Gutierrez as his partner, while Diaz, the wristy net magician teamed up with the energetic Sanchez to start the new season.
The going has been good for both the Spanish pairings as they secured their place in NAS Padel Tennis final in their first tournament together. While Mieres and Gutierrez battled past Jordi Munoz and Aday Santana 7-6, 6-2, Diaz and Sanchez eased their way 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 against Adrian Allemandi and Miguel Lamperti.
“The first of our goals was to make it to the final here in Dubai. It is going to be just one more match and anything can happen in the final,” Diaz told Gulf News.
“Anyone who makes less mistakes will be in a better position to win the final. I am happy that we have been doing well together as a pair. There is a chemistry between us and that goes a long way in raising our game,” he added.
Meanwhile, Al Zeer, Xcat and Fohood Jumeirah joined defending champions Fohood Zabeel as winners on the opening day of the futsal competition.
Fohood Zabeel rode on the brilliance of former two-time Fifa Futsal Player of the Year Ricardo Filipe da Silva (Ricardinho) with a 4-0 blanking of Forsan Al Ittihad.
Led by the nippy Moroccan Kareem Bali, Xcat were impressive in their win, but it was Ricardinho’s Fohood Zabeel that once again displayed their guile with a fluent win. The Portuguese star has been vital to the success at Fohood Zabeel winning the futsal title for two years on the trot.
On Saturday, the diminutive man from Porto who plays with Inter Movistar in Madrid was once again the backbone of his team’s winning start as he set up two and scored one himself to guide his team home in their Group A encounter against Forsan Al Ittihad.
Ricardinho’s point-perfect lay-ups helped Rafael de Lira score twice on either side of half-time, while Sabri Jameel got one and Ricardinho himself completed the tally.
Al Zeer toyed with Al Nojoom for a 6-2 win with Ali Mohammad Ghuloom and Hussain Tayebibigoli scoring a brace apiece, while Talib Mohammad Alfzari and Jaber Saffar got one each for Al Zeer. Ebrahim Kamal and Mohammad Allouch got Al Nojoom’s two goals.
Xcat also eased their way to a 4-1 win over Al Bahri with Karim Bali showing some classy touch on the ball with two goals while Adil Zouthane and Yousuf Al Dhanhani added one each. Mohammad Khay pulled one back for Al Bahri towards the end.
Fohood Jumeirah was another team that showed a lot of potential with a 6-0 thrashing of Al Aseefa Falcons. Tariq Aman, Franklin Douglas Cavalante and Morales di Oliveira Faria all got two goals each for Fohood Jumeirah.
In the wheelchair basketball being held at the Dubai Club for Special Needs, Al Ghusais, Dubai Municipality recorded their second straight win with a 35-20 result against Dubai Ambulance. Hosts Dubai Club for Special Needs also got their campaign under way with a 26-16 win against Dubai Duty Free.
