Reigning champions Argentina began their title defence at the FIP World Cup in Doha with a 3-0 win over Australia on Monday, 2 November, and Spain beat Sweden by the same score. The surprises of the first men's day came from the Netherlands, who beat France, and Germany, who beat Chile, both in a deciding third match, the International Padel Federation reported.
Argentina drop four games
Argentina, who had named a squad full of Premier Padel regulars, were rarely troubled by Australia, who took the last men's place at the Asia-Africa qualifying event in Kuwait. Franco Stupaczuk and Fede Chingotto opened with a 6-1 6-1 win over Bechard and Melisi. Leo Augsburger and Martín Di Nenno then beat Zelba and Navarro without losing a game, and Gonza Alfonso and Maxi Arce completed the sweep 6-1 6-0 against Brown and Velickovic.
Spain win 3-0 without Galán
Spain, playing without Ale Galán, who is injured, also won all three matches in Group B, but Sweden made them work for one of them. Mike Yanguas and Aimar Goñi lost the first set to Willy Slaryd and Adam Axelsson before winning 6-7 7-5 6-2. Arturo Coello, two days after winning the Kuwait Major with Agustín Tapia, partnered Paquito Navarro to a 6-3 6-2 win over Vasquez and Windahl, and Juan Lebrón and Jon Sanz beat Olsson and Frost 6-0 6-2. In the same group, Paraguay beat the United Arab Emirates 3-0.
The Netherlands and Germany win the close ties
The Netherlands beat France in Group A. Sten Richters and Thijs Roper won the first match 6-1 7-5 against Guichard and Fonteny, Maxime Joris and Johan Bergeron levelled 1-6 6-3 7-5, and Bart Van Opstal and Julian Prins won the decider 6-4 1-6 6-3 against Leygue and Blanqué. The FIP said the result, like Sweden's resistance against Spain, showed the gap between national teams narrowing.
In Group C, Germany beat Chile after Christian Bohenke and Nick Merten came from a set down to win the third match 2-6 6-3 6-4 against Muñoz and Campos. Portugal beat hosts Qatar 3-0, with the Deus brothers among the winners. In Group D, Italy beat the United States 3-0 and Brazil, with Lucas Bergamini and Diogo Correa, beat Mexico 3-0.
What comes next
The group stage continues until Wednesday, 4 November; the top two teams in each group reach the quarter-finals on Thursday, and the finals are on Saturday, 7 November. Argentina still have to play France and the Netherlands. Read our report on the women's first day.
Sources
This article was written by TiebreakNews from the reporting below, checked against official results and rankings.
- International Padel Federation — Men's Day1: big wins for the Netherlands and Germany! Argentina and Spain get off to a good start
- International Padel Federation — Group stage drawn as the race for the world title begins in Doha on Monday
- Tennis Tonic — PADEL. Spain lose Ale Galán for World Team Championships in Doha