Dubai: Sandy Farquharson and Javier Lopez successfully defended their padel crown while defeating Javier Molina and German Zunica 6-3, 6-3 in the final at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex late on Saturday.
Seeded number one, the defending champions had maintained an unbeaten run in all four preliminary round matches followed by a straight-set semi-final victory against Emilio Misas and Pedro Rios.
After cruising through the first set 6-3, Molina and Zunica broke back early in the second to tie 1-1. But that was all they could do as Farquharson and Lopez registered a break in the third and from then on never looked back with Lopez ending matters with a smash.
Farquharson, who underwent knee surgery seven months ago, was tentative for the tournament. “But I decided to take the risk and see how far we could go. So just going through a full tournament is quite a relief for me personally,” he told Gulf News.
“The key tonight was keeping the points short and quick while attacking more so that they don’t get the chance to settle in and play their game,” he added.
His partner, Lopez, was pleased with a second title in as many years with the same partner. “We played solid and simply did what we normally do while playing together. The key lay in attacking at the net as we knew that that is what would unnerve them,” Lopez said.
Earlier, Guillermo Villafane combined with Benjamin Cassaigne to win the third place with a 7-6, 6-2 win over Misas and Rios.
Result
(Padel Men’s Open) Final: Sandy Farquharson/Javier Lopez bt German Zunica/Javier Molina 6-3, 6-3. Third place: Guillermo Villafane/Benjamin Cassaigne bt Emilio Misas/Pedro Rios 7-6, 6-2.
