2023-05-24 20:31:17
The “Austria Day” at the BOSS Vienna Padel Open in the Steffl Arena (May 20th to 28th) kept everything it promised: Spectacular rallies, enthusiastic fans and overwhelming Austrian players: inside.
by PM
last edited: 05/24/2023, 10:31 p.m
© Zolles picture agency
Almost 1,000 spectators found their way to the Steffl Arena on Wednesday. The highlight followed from 6 p.m. on Center Court: the matches of the two domestic wildcard duos. First, Rebeca Fernandez Niederacher/Dawn Foxhall had to deal with the Argentinian-Spanish pairing Virginia Riera/Tamara Icardo in the first round of the main competition. They kept numerous rallies open, but ultimately mightn’t celebrate a game win and had to admit defeat 0:6, 0:6.
“We were a bit nervous but it was an incredible experience. The match started, we played a bit – and suddenly the first set was over. It happened so quickly, the two of them simply showed their class,” says Fernandez Niederacher, who grew up in Seville (ESP) and has lived in Austria for five years.
“Girls should see what is possible”
Foxhall agreed with her partner: “At this level, every little mistake is punished. It was an amazing experience, you mightn’t expect us to get anything. I’m 52 years old, both of them are in the best sporting age and train every day as full professionals. The mood was very good, thanks to everyone who was here.”
The two also agreed on one thing: The BOSS Vienna Padel Open is the best advertisement for the sport. “We hope that many girls and young women will see that you can achieve something in padel. If following our match even one girl says she wants to do sports or play padel, we did everything right.”
Catching up once morest the shooting star
Rainhard Boisits and Kristopher Sotiriu then did a lot of things right. The two held up surprisingly well once morest Javier Rico/Leandro Augsburger (ESP/ARG), balanced all games in the first set, had several “golden points” (the next point is decisive for a debut) – and still lost it 1:6.
“It didn’t feel that clear because it was always our turn. But in the important moments, the two simply play their class, so we can’t grumble. In fact, it was cool that we were able to keep up so well,” said Boisits. Augsburger in particular made life difficult for the Austrians with his powerful smashes.
In the second set, the two Lower Austrians fell 0:5 behind despite several break chances before they started to catch up with the support of the numerous fans in the Steffl Arena. Boisits/Sotiriu came close to 3:5, then even had chances to make it 4:5, but lost 3:6.
“I think we sold ourselves dearly. On the one hand it’s a pity because – as stupid as it may sound – there might have been even more. On the other hand, we might have lost more clearly, all in all it fits,” summed up Sotiriu. His partner agreed: “If someone had told us before the match 1-6, 3-6, we would have been happy. It’s a bit annoying following the close game, but the joy outweighs it.”
Red-white-red party mood
The atmosphere in the hall was overwhelming for both of them. The home fans, many of them in red-white-red, whipped up the local heroes with chants. “We already thought that something would happen – but that was amazing! It was unbelievable how the audience went along and created a party atmosphere. I had goosebumps,” said Boisits.
Sotiriu, who competed despite a torn meniscus in his right knee, was impressed: “Hats off to the fans! Logically, we have never experienced anything like this, which makes it even more unforgettable. Thanks also to the organizers for the opportunity to play with the wild card here. We would love to come back next year.”
From an international point of view, all top favorites prevailed in the first round. Among others, crowd favorite Francisco Navarro (ESP) and partner Federico Chingotto (ARG) delighted the Viennese audience, the two top 10 players were able to defeat the Spaniards Pablo Cardona/Ivan Ramirez 6:3, 6:1.
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