Lebron and Augsburger are the top seeds left in Dubai as the P1 quarterfinals open

Lebron Augsburger vs Tello Arce headlines the Dubai P1 quarterfinals today, 12:00 Dubai start. Draw, women's number 1 race and where to watch.

Friday's quarterfinals at the Dubai P1 open on a men's draw nobody would have drawn up on Monday. The two top pairs withdrew, three more of the top eight seeds were gone by Thursday night, and the highest seed still standing is Lebron and Augsburger, second in the draw. Their quarterfinal against Tello and Arce is the match the whole bracket now leans on.

On the women's side the script has held, with one big exception that matters for the year-end number one. Eight men's and eight women's pairs are left, the finals are on Sunday 15 November, and the favorites have fewer places to hide than a week ago.

The round of 16 that emptied the draw

The men's top eight had already lost the two best pairs to medical withdrawals and, on Wednesday, a fourth seed beaten by a qualifying pair. Thursday took two more. The fifth seeds, Yanguas and Nieto, lost to Juani De Pascual and Garrido by 7-6, 3-6 and 7-6, with an 8-6 tiebreak at the end of a match of 2 hours and 35 minutes.

The sixth seeds, Leal and Guerrero, won the first set 6-1 and then lost 1-6, 7-5 and 6-3 to Bautista and Bergamini. The qualifying pair that had beaten the fourth seeds did not last either: Abbate and Dal Bianco, neither of them in the top 50 on Padelpedia, won 7-6 and 6-3 and are now one match from a semifinal.

Four men's quarterfinals, one clear headline

Only four of the eight remaining men's pairs are in the top eight seeds (2, 3, 7 and 8). The other four came through from seeds 10, 11 and 14, plus a pair without a seed.

Lebron and Augsburger against Tello and Arce

Lebron and Augsburger beat Victor Ruiz and Facundo Lopez 6-2 and 6-4 without drama. Tello and Arce, eighth seeds, had to come back: they lost the first set 3-6 to Edu Alonso and Aimar Goni and won the next two 6-3 and 6-2. One pair has the seeding, the other has the momentum of a comeback, and the winner takes a semifinal place on Saturday.

The other three

The third seeds, Stupaczuk and Sanz, beat Sanyo Gutierrez and Maxi Sanchez 6-3 and 6-4 and now meet De Pascual and Garrido, who come off the 2-hour-35-minute marathon. Libaak and Alfonso beat a lucky-loser pair 6-2 and 6-3 and face Bautista and Bergamini. Momo Gonzalez and Campagnolo, seventh seeds, beat Inigo Jofre and Juanlu Esbri 6-3 and 6-3 and play Abbate and Dal Bianco.

Triay and Brea, and the race for number one

Triay and Brea started their week with 6-3 and 6-1 over Marta Talavan and Sofia Saiz and meet the sixth seeds Jensen and Icardo. The Race table, as of 10 November, had them on 14,020 points, ahead of Sanchez and Ustero on 11,240 and Josemaria and Bea Gonzalez on 10,340.

With the Mexico Major (2,000 points) and the Barcelona Finals (1,500) still to come, Triay and Brea can end the debate here only by winning Dubai, worth 1,000 points, and only if Sanchez and Ustero lose no later than the quarterfinals. That second condition is live today: Sanchez and Ustero play Velasco and Eugenio, the pair that knocked out the fifth seeds Araujo and Ortega by 4-6, 6-4 and 6-3.

The rest of the women's quarterfinals

Josemaria and Bea Gonzalez, second seeds, beat Martina Fassio and Vero Virseda 6-4 and 6-1 and play Guinart and Ale Alonso (Alejandra Alonso), who won 6-4 and 6-2. The fourth seeds Claudia Fernandez and Calvo meet Rufo and Iglesias, who needed three sets against a qualifying pair.

Times and where to watch

The day starts at 12:00 in Dubai (09:00 in Spain, 05:00 in Argentina) at the Hamdan Sports Complex, with Triay and Brea against Jensen and Icardo on Pista Central and Rufo and Iglesias against Fernandez and Calvo on Pista 1. Lebron and Augsburger against Tello and Arce follows the three women's matches on Pista Central. Libaak and Alfonso against Bautista and Bergamini will not start before 19:00 in Dubai, 16:00 in Spain and 12:00 in Argentina.

Red Bull TV streams the quarterfinals in most territories, Movistar Plus+ shows them in Spain, ESPN and Disney+ in South America and beIN SPORTS in the Middle East and North Africa. The semifinals are on Saturday and the finals on Sunday. After a week of withdrawals and upsets, the draw has stopped belonging to anyone in particular.