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00:00 Hello and welcome to the Aconcagua Arena host of the Premier Paddle P1 event in Mendoza.
00:09 It's the second P1 event of the calendar year and we are down to the semi-final stage.
00:17 And this is where we've got to, the semi-final stage and what a line-up we have here.
00:21 Starting with on the left, Lebron and Gallen, the world number one pair against the best
00:25 pair in the world this year, Cuello and Tapia.
00:28 That will be followed by Ruiz and Teo in their seventh tournament together.
00:31 And Stupid Soup and Zineno, the second best pair in the year this year, playing some fantastic paddles.
00:40 And what we have here, what a wait.
00:42 If this is your hors d'oeuvre, can you imagine Juan Lebron, Ale Gallen against Arturo Cuello
00:47 and Augustin Tapia.
00:51 The locals have adopted the Spaniard Arturo Cuello, but the pair are led out by the Mozart
00:59 of Catamarca, Augustin Tapia, followed by Arturo Cuello.
01:05 Here they are, Ale Gallen on the right and Juan Lebron on the left.
01:10 They will get a wonderful reception, but you have to remember that Augustin Tapia from
01:14 Argentina is a home favourite.
01:17 It's a bonus to win a cheap point off the serve.
01:32 There's also been a lot of talk this week about the flow conditions here in Argentina.
01:52 Oh, they've got it.
02:06 You just need to tap your opponent's side of the net.
02:09 He was in position in plenty of time, rolled it across to the net and with 10 minutes on
02:16 the clock, he's the winners in Rome, the winners of the winners 12 titles this year.
02:21 We get the early break and the 2-1 lead over the top seats.
02:28 And there it is.
02:41 There's a subdued crowd because it's a break back for Gallen and Lebron.
02:48 They just held their breath for a fraction of a second.
03:04 Oh, it's just too good in the end for Cuello.
03:20 You cannot give him a ball like that.
03:22 He will punish you all day long.
03:24 Exactly what he did.
03:25 They reclaimed the advantage, they reclaimed the break and they lead having broken for
03:30 15 by three games to do, 15 minutes played.
03:37 It's a game changing tour, Premier Battle.
03:54 Oh, it's too good.
04:21 Well won, well held, well saved.
04:41 Well played.
05:01 Oh, what a point.
05:14 They looked down and out on a number of occasions, but they turned it around, they closed out
05:20 the point and they take the set.
05:23 Special stuff from Cuello and Tapia, champions in Rome, champions in Madrid.
05:28 And now they close out the first set by six games to four.
05:33 And what a way to close out the first set.
05:53 Any touch of the net following contact of the ball and you void the point.
06:15 Oh, they've done it.
06:16 They're breaking in the first game of the second set.
06:18 The net hanging Cuello.
06:20 How do you get the ball past him?
06:22 He is everywhere.
06:25 Immediately in for the backhand.
06:27 Look at how he cuts it across both.
06:38 Too good.
06:39 It's the placement, the way he brushes up the back of the ball and gets enough spin on it
06:45 to fly over the heads of both Galan and LeBron.
06:50 For the double break.
07:02 There it is, the ball is tossed high into the arena by Alejandro Galan.
07:08 Very difficult to see a way back for the world number one pair now with Cuello and Tapia leading
07:13 with a double break and three games to love.
07:17 All it was needed was a touch.
07:19 It's all he got.
07:20 And the double break was theirs.
07:22 Three love with 47 minutes gone.
07:29 When they're at the net, they're not being given the chance to get there.
07:33 And if they do get there, they don't have the chance to stay there.
07:40 He can do that all day long, Arturo Cuello, nicknamed the King Arthur, using his six foot three inch frame.
07:58 There's the point of the game, just too much power off the forehand of Cuello.
08:03 And they move to win a game of their 16th final of 2023.
08:11 And their third Premier Padel final in a row.
08:28 There he is, once again. How many times have we said that during the course of this semi-final?
08:36 Not leave anything hanging in the air for Arturo Cuello.
08:44 Two points from the win.
08:46 A win over the top seeds.
09:07 There he is again, there they are again. And after 58 minutes, it's match point for Cuello and Tapia.
09:27 He wasn't far off.
09:52 As we hit the hour mark, there's two match points saved.
10:08 Oh, he tried. He tried to make it work, but for once it doesn't come off.
10:14 And they'll have to wait a little bit longer before surely they book their place in tomorrow's final.
10:23 The Augustine Tapia, when they resume, stepping up to serve their place in Sunday's final, leading by a set and 5-2.
10:43 So good, so, so good. It's the 16th final of 2023, it's the third Premier Padel final in a row.
10:53 The pair of the year, Arturo Cuello and Augustine Tapia.
11:00 Plenty of questions for Juan Lebron and Ali Gallant to find answers for.
11:05 After an hour and five minutes, we admire what we are seeing from Cuello and Tapia.
11:13 Special, special stuff out here on the centre front of the Aconcagua Arena.
11:17 And they are through to tomorrow's final.
11:20 Hour and five minutes, straight sets to get to world number one pair, 6-4, 6-2.
11:26 You look away, look at that. Just the one opportunity to get a break and they did get it.
11:32 But look at the opportunities created by Cuello and Tapia.
11:35 They ended up pulling away with the winners.
11:38 They were able to keep the unforced error count low and they were simply too good for Gallant and Lebron.
11:44 [Music]
11:47 (explosion)
11:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]