A final Madrid run ends in the first qualifying round
Miguel Lamperti still had one route into the main draw: winning through qualifying. According to AS, the Argentine had requested a wild card to enter the Madrid P1 directly and play at least one match at the Movistar Arena. The invitation was not granted.
On Saturday, August 29 at Club Pro Padel Coslada, Lamperti and Octavio Álvarez lost to Javier Valdés and Miguel Benítez Lara in three sets, 6-2 5-7 6-4. The defeat ends their bid for the main draw, where the first men’s matches are scheduled for Tuesday, September 1.
At 47, Lamperti is playing his final professional season. Based in Madrid since 2006, he had to come through qualifying to play one last time at the Movistar Arena.
Three wild cards, none for Lamperti
What does a wild card do in padel?
A wild card is a direct invitation into the main draw. It allows a player or pair to enter without going through qualifying.
The official FIP draw has 48 men’s pairs: 37 direct entries, eight qualifiers and three wild cards. The main-draw invitations went to Hugo García Martínez / Carlos del Pico Torres, Iago Fuertes / Bentahor Espino and Javier Collantes / Asier Martínez.
Lamperti was 103rd in the FIP world ranking on August 24. Without an invitation, he had to start in Coslada with Álvarez. The tournament’s official information does not give a detailed reason for the allocation of the three invitations. Lamperti will therefore not play the Madrid P1 at the Movistar Arena.
In Buenos Aires, 13,000 fans marked his final Premier Padel in Argentina
In May, the FIP paid tribute to Lamperti in front of 13,000 spectators in Buenos Aires during his final Premier Padel event in Argentina. In Madrid, his run ended on the qualifying courts in Coslada.
A few weeks later, on La Bandeja, a Premier Padel programme, Lamperti explained how he hoped to be remembered after his career:
“I’d like people to remember me as a good person with a smile. That’s the most important thing.”
He made that comment in July, a few months before his planned retirement. Premier Padel had already dedicated an official post to his Buenos Aires tribute.
The Madrid P1 runs from September 1 to 6 at the Movistar Arena. For Lamperti, his final Madrid tournament ended in qualifying.
