Libaak and Alfonso, with Doha on their minds, beat Lebron and Augsburger in Kuwait

Libaak and Alfonso beat Lebron and Augsburger 4-6 7-5 6-1 in the Kuwait Major round of 16, days before the Doha World Cup. Coello and Tapia keep rolling.

There were barely five days left until the World Cup and the Kuwait Major had suddenly become a dress rehearsal. The players who will defend a flag in a week knew it, and some arrived determined to send a message. Tino Libaak and Gonza Alfonso, who will be in Doha with Argentina, produced one of their best performances since forming a pair this Wednesday, October 28, and eliminated Juan Lebron and Leo Augsburger, the third seeds, 4-6, 7-5 and 6-1.

It was the surprise of the Major’s round of 16, and one that resonates strongly a week before the national team tournament begins.

A match that slipped away in the second set

For more than an hour the script seemed written for Lebron and Augsburger. They won the first set and had the second well in hand, with the control that comes from arriving in Kuwait after a final in Milan. But past the midpoint of the second set, the match turned 180 degrees. Libaak and Alfonso began to dominate, leveled the match at 7-5 and in the third gave no room to breathe: 6-1, impeccable.

The contrast with Lebron’s press conference a few days earlier is striking. Then he spoke of setting differences aside for the national team, with Doha in mind. Today, before even reaching Qatar, he has in front of him the proof that Argentina gives nothing away.

Who remains in the draw

Libaak and Alfonso will face Martin Di Nenno and Paquito Navarro, the fifth seeds, in the quarterfinals on Thursday, after they beat Pol Hernandez and Manuel Castano 6-3 and 6-0. It will once again be a duel with a World Cup flavor: Argentines against a Spaniard and an Argentine who will probably meet under different shirts in a few days.

Without the number twos, absent through Galan’s injury, and with the number threes out, the road of Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia to a fifth consecutive title clears even more. The number ones routed Enrique Goenaga and Guille Collado 6-2 and 6-1 and will face Jairo Bautista and Lucas Bergamini in the quarterfinals, who produced another shock by coming back against Mike Yanguas and Coki Nieto 1-6, 6-4 and 6-2. For Nieto it was a return to competition after two tournaments out through injury, and after a great start he watched the match slip away.

The other top-four pair still standing is Jon Sanz and Franco Stupaczuk, who beat Inigo Jofre and Juanlu Esbri 6-2 and 7-5. Their quarterfinal rival will be Edu Alonso and Aimar Goni, who beat Fran Guerrero and Javi Leal with a double 6-4.

A small story inside the Major

Amid so many favorites falling, there was a story of the kind that gives a tournament its identity. Marc Sintes and Coquito Zamora reached the quarterfinals of the circuit for the first time in their careers, after beating Javi Garcia and Alex Ruiz 6-3 and 7-5. They will be the lowest-ranked pair to play a Major quarterfinal. Their opponents are Juan Tello and Maxi Arce, who beat Denis Perino and Facu Dominguez in three sets.

The favorites advance in the women’s draw

In the women’s draw the top seeds made their debut and did so without concessions. Delfi Brea and Gemma Triay won 6-0 and 6-1 over Marta Talavan and Sofia Saiz and will face Nuria Rodriguez and Giulia Dal Pozzo, who sprang a surprise by eliminating Marina Guinart and Alejandra Alonso in three sets. Paula Josemaria and Bea Gonzalez won 6-1 and 6-0 and await Lorena Rufo and Victoria Iglesias.

The Milan champions, Ari Sanchez and Andrea Ustero, beat Martina Fassio and Veronica Virseda 6-2 and 6-1 and will face Tamara Icardo and Claudia Jensen. And Claudia Fernandez and Martina Calvo, after a 6-4 and 7-6(3), will meet Marta Ortega and Sofia Araujo.

The Major enters its decisive phase, and the World Cup can already be felt on court.