Padel, at Roland Garros and Spain-Argentina (as in 2005): Lebron-Galan against Chingotto-Tello

Spain-Argentina at Roland Garros had not been seen for almost twenty years. Remember the long-haired ‘chico canary’ and the green t-shirt, right? Left-handed, one meter and 85, a lot of power. Rafa Nadal. That day he took home the first of 14 French pearls by scrambling the Argentine Mariano Puerta three sets to one. Spain-Argentina, yes, just like today, albeit in another sport. Padel was played for the first time on Philippe Chatrier, and on the central RG – dressed in blue for the Premier Padel, the new world circuit – Juan Lebron and Ale Galan will face off against Federico Chingotto and Juan Tello (on the pitch at 15).

The Spanish

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Lebron and Galan are in the third final out of three of the Premier Padel and chasing the second title in a row after the one they won in Rome. They are the couple to beat and the number one in the ranking. In the semifinals they got rid of Stupaczuk / Lima in just forty minutes (6-1 6-0). In the press room they had dreamy eyes and a cover smile. Lebron was so excited that he didn’t even hear the first question, he kindly asked the reporter to repeat it, absorbed in his thoughts. Two above all: the documentary on his life just released on Prime Video – “Juan Lebron: the evolution of the padel” – and the dream of triumphing where Nadal won. He and Ale have been announcing it several times for a week. “For a Spaniard he counts more”. Outside the Philippe Chatrier North Grandstand is the list of all the winners of the RG. Nadal’s name is written 14 times. Finally, near the ‘Grand Public’ entrance, there is also a three-meter statue of him in stainless steel. Rafa has just thrown a forehand to the jump, his specialty. She has long hair like that afternoon in 2005 and the usual headband that tries to tame it. Lebron and Galan, lifelong pans, Andalusian the first and Madrid the second, when they passed by they looked down. Good luck, who knows if it will help.

The Argentines

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The surprise of the Paris Major. After all, Chingotto had said: “We are far from doomed…”. And in fact he and Tello sank Di Nenno and Navarro, winners in Doha and finalists in Rome, in just over an hour (7-6 6-3). At the end of the match they hugged so tightly that the liberating scream was heard throughout the stadium. Chingotto showed up in the press room with a towel over his shoulders and an emblematic smile, immediately giving the title: “It was one of the best games of our career”. He has seen it. Argentines, Juan and Fede have been playing together for six years and occupy the tenth place in the World Padel Tour ranking. They call them “gato” and “ratón”, the cat and the mouse, but Chingotto is also known as the ‘octopus’. This is because his arm reaches everywhere: “I’m 1.70 meters tall, I have to compensate with recoveries”. Special dreams here too: the last Argentine tennis player to win Roland Garros was Gaston Gaudio in 2004, 3-2 in comeback against fellow countryman Guillermo Coria. On the wall of the winners there is also his name. Chingotto was 7, Tello 9. Now they want to join the club.