{{relatedlist[0].categoria_news}}
{{relatedlist[0].data}}
The reigning Major champions trained on the Central Court, with Coello taking on the role of scorekeeper and a new ally to become even more effective at the net. Pratto gave positional advice to Tapia, and the spectators watched in awe as impossible shots became easy
17 giugno 2024
If it were always like this, their opponents might as well not take the court. Because in the drill proposed by coach Gustavo Pratto during Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia’s first training session in Rome, the number ones started directly at the net, with Denis Perino and Pablo Garcia tasked with the difficult (read: impossible) mission of dislodging them from there. They won some of the points meticulously counted by Coello in his referee role, but the outcome was as predictable as the certainty of not even reaching the missiles launched by King Arthur, wielding the brand-new racket bearing his signature for the first time. "In the volley," said the Spaniard to his partner, "I feel the ball perfectly." Trouble ahead for the others, especially for the number 2 pair Galan/Chingotto, who tested the Central Court just before them.
In the stands, about 200 curious onlookers (mostly youngsters, which is great news) rubbed their eyes in disbelief at the champions' plays, who up close seem like regular guys, but once they enter the cage, they transform into aliens. Coello doesn’t let a single ball go even during training, while Tapia’s approach is more relaxed, more like a phenomenon for whom everything comes easy anyway. After all, there’s still Tuesday to prepare for their debut the next day, but it's no coincidence that the (few) words from "guru" Pratto are all for him, to address some positional flaws and make an already lethal pair even more deadly, who arrived in Rome with only one goal in mind: a possible repeat victory.
At the Foro Italico, they are once again the ones to watch, already having dominated half (five) of the events on this year’s Premier Padel calendar. Many will try to stop them: notably Galan/Chingotto, but also Juan Lebron and Paquito Navarro (expected in Rome on Tuesday) and the "Superpibes" Martin Di Nenno and Franco Stupaczuk, who chose the milder evening climate for their Central Court test, from 8 PM. On the other side of the net, the Italians Riccardo Sinicropi and Lorenzo Di Giovanni, for a luxury training session and the opportunity to experience the Central Court in conditions very similar to what they will face on Tuesday, when in the evening session they will battle for glory against Cremona/Deus.