Foto-Credit: German Padel Open / Sascha Feuster
At the BOSS German Padel Open presented by SIXT, September 27 was all about the German padel pros. On the so-called "Local Heroes Day", the matches of the three German padel duos qualified for the main competition took place on the center court in the CASTELLO.
Padel duo Daniel Lingen and Vincent Jülich had to deal with a real heavyweight: One of the most successful padel professionals of all times was waiting: Fernando "Bela" Belasteguín. The Argentine, who plays with young Spaniard Miguel Yanguas Diez, is one of the most experienced players on the World Padel Tour (WPT). In the course of his career, the 44-year-old stood at the top of the worldwide padel rankings for an unbelievable 15 years from 2002 to 2017, collecting the most Open and Masters victories of all time. Lingen and Jülich fought back valiantly, but in the end the duo Belasteguín/Yanguas won 6-1, 6-1.
"To be on the court with a padel great like Fernando Belasteguín in front of a home crowd in Germany was already extraordinary for both of us. The support of the fans here on site also showed impressively what kind of family cohesion there is in padel," says Vincent Jülich. And his playing partner Daniel Lingen adds: "We will remember this match for a long time. We are proud that we were able to play our part in the further development of padel in Germany. And who knows where the journey will take us from here."
Wunner and Lindmeyer bravely hold their own
The second German men's duo also faced a tricky task: Matthias Wunner and Johannes Lindmeyer dueled in the glass cage on center court with Spanish pros Iván Ramírez and Pablo García Rodrigo - 40th and 66th in the WPT rankings. Despite courageous play, the final score was 1-6 and 1-6 from the German's point of view.
"The permanent Wunni and Jojo shouts from the audience pushed us brutally. We enjoyed every minute on center court" said Johannes Lindmeyer. "We want to take this feeling with us, learn from our mistakes and work our way up step by step," adds Matthias Wunner.
Kurz and Höfer look ahead with renewed vigor
They are considered to be one of the best German padel duos: Victoria Kurz and Denise Höfer - even if they didn't have too much to laugh in their match against Spain's Marta Talaván Ruiz (23rd in the WPT ranking) and Nuria Rodríguez Camacho (22nd). After two sets (6-0 and 6-2) at the CASTELLO, Talaván/Rodríguez were the winners. And yet Kurz and Höfer were in good spirits afterwards.
"The result is secondary today. We had fun and are richer by a great experience, which we will continue to grow from. Next year in Germany at the latest, we want to attack again on the World Padel Tour. And I'm sure that not only us, but Padel as a whole in Germany will make a big leap forward by then," says Denise Höfer.
Top stars cap first day on center court
In addition to the local heroes, the CASTELLO also hosted top-class duels with international participation. Among others, the Spanish-Argentinean number 1 duo Arturo Coello and Agustín Tapia showed their skills (6-4 and 6-1 against Álvaro Cepero Rodríguez and Alex Chozas). At the end of the day, a real treat awaited the Düsseldorf audience. The two superstars Alejandro Galán Juan Lebrón, who together dominated the padel rankings in 2020, 2021 and 2022, took to the center court for the crowning finale. In a high-class match, the favored duo prevailed 6-3 and 6-4 against Spain's Francisco Gil (27th in the WPT ranking) and Ramiro Moyano (28th) from Argentina.
