Chingalan joy: comeback win over Lebron and Stupa, back in the Rome final

Chingalan never give up. Just ask Juan Lebron and Franco Stupaczuk, the other two protagonists of the first men’s semifinal that lit up the Central Court. Once again, emotions and plot twists took center stage at the BNL Italy Major Premier Padel, as Federico Chingotto and Ale Galan punched their ticket to Sunday’s final after a high-level match.

The first set was all about “El Lobo” and “Franchino” (as he was affectionately called by fans at the Foro Italico). The world number 3 duo won it 6-4 thanks to minimal errors and a mix of precise, clever shots that put their opponents under serious pressure. They earned the crucial break in the seventh game to seal the set.

After a quick break on the bench, the Chingalan pair came out fired up, sharper in their strokes and physically more brilliant. They broke serve in the eighth game, and at 5-3 with serve, seemed in control. But a surprise break back from Lebron and Stupa (their last real spark) pushed the set to a tiebreak, which Galan and Chingotto dominated 7-2 to level the match.

The third set was one-way traffic: two early breaks by Ale and Fede set the tone and carried them to victory. “It wasn’t one of our best matches—we struggled a lot in the beginning,” Galan admitted after the match, “but we fought for every point, and that gave us the confidence to come back and win. We improved in the second set, found more winners, and the key was to stop thinking about the result and just focus on what we could do”.

A winning reaction that once again proves their mental and physical strength. Now just one match stands between them and back-to-back Rome Major titles: the final against the winner of the other semifinal between world number ones Coello/Tapia and surprise package Guerrero/Leal.