The derby of friendship between Chingotto and Tello goes to ‘El Gato’ and Paquito: “Milan, what a show!”

Dec. 9 – “We loved each other so much”. And, given the way ‘El Gato’ Tello and Chingotto hugged each other, they will continue to do so for a long time despite facing each other on the other side of the net after eight years of passion, tournaments and partnership as racket twins. For the second time in a row, however, the ‘corazon’ derby goes to the pair formed by Paquito Navarro and Juan ‘ El Gato’ Tello, who beat Javi Garrido and Fede ‘Super Raton’ Chingotto in three tight sets 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. An amazing, beautiful match, marked by spectacle, fair play – when, for example, Paquito corrected a call out by the referee on Chingotto’s service – and also by heartbreak, when Garrido to catch a ‘por tres’ from Tello fell getting a sprained left ankle (3-4 in the first set) that stopped the match twice, first to proceed with a bandage and then to remove it. And not only that, the ‘heartbeat’ that thanks to DJ Carletto became the soundtrack of the ‘Revision de Video’ calls – the video review technology used in the Premier Padel circuit – was accompanied by the clapping of the audience in a more intense and participatory way, an unmistakable sign of the passion with which the spectators lived the derby between Chingotto and his former partner. And then, the plays: shots between the legs, amazing saves on and off the field, close exchanges at crazy speed for an extraordinary show in a wild Allianz Cloud. At the end, the speech of happiness is made by Paquito, who greets in Italian: “I am very happy to make the semifinal here in Milan, look what a crowd we have!” triggering the roar of the stands. Then in Spanish: “I am happy for three reasons: Because with Chingotto and Garrido we played a great, spectacular match and the enthusiasm of the audience testified to that; because El Gato is patiently putting up with my ‘move’ to the right; and lastly because if in Rome everything was great, beautiful, here in Milan in this fantastic place everything is spectacular and we can’t wait to play the semifinal!”