Given the level they had already shown in Brussels, it was only a matter of time before Edu Alonso and Aimar Goñi reached their first semi-final together in a Premier Padel tournament. They achieved it at the Asuncion P2, repeating the feat already accomplished 24 hours earlier against Momo Gonzalez and Martin Di Nenno by defeating third seeds Franco Stupaczuk and Mike Yanguas 6-2 4-6 6-3. Those two victories have earned Alonso and Goñi a semi-final in the bottom half of the draw against Fede Chingotto and Ale Galan, who had to battle hard to overcome Juan Tello and Maxi Arce, eventually turning around a difficult match and winning in two tie-breaks (4-6 7-6 7-6). In the top half, meanwhile, there will be a rematch of the Brussels final: on one side Arturo Coello
and Agustin Tapia (6-1 6-0 over Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz), and on the other the Belgium champions Juan Lebron and Leo Augsburger, who in the final match of the day defeated another surprise pair of the week in Paraguay, Alonso Rodriguez and Juani De Pascual, 6-3 7-6.

WOMEN The women’s semi-finals, featuring the top four seeded pairs, will open Saturday’s programme at 2 p.m. local time (7 p.m. CEST). Claudia Fernandez and Sofia Araujo (4) were the pair pushed the hardest, defeating Marina Guinart and Veronica Virseda in three sets (3-6 7-5  6-3) to earn a meeting with Paula Josemaria and Bea Gonzalez (2), who overcame Marta Ortega and Martina Calvo 6-1 6-2. The first match of the day, however, will be between Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay, who defeated Ale Salazar and Ale Alonso 6-2 6-4, and the pair formed by Ari Sanchez and Andrea Ustero, who advanced thanks to a 7-6 6-4 win over Claudia Jensen and Tamara Icardo. The two pairs have already met in the finals in Riyadh and Gijon, with one victory each.