Cabeza and Gonzalez Open Madrid P1 With Straight-Sets Win

Mariano Gonzalez and Curro Cabeza beat Bentahor Espino and Iago Fuertes 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the Madrid P1 on Tuesday, the latest step forward for one of the tour's newest partnerships. The teenage pairing closed out the round of 32 match at the Movistar Arena in straight sets.

A partnership built in months

Cabeza, who is from Marbella, and Gonzalez, an 18 year old from Encarnacion, Paraguay, only joined forces in the middle of this year. It has not taken them long to make an impact. In their debut event together, a FIP Gold in Almaty, they were seeded fifth and reached the semifinals before losing to Martin Di Nenno and "Momo" Gonzalez.

First Premier Padel quarterfinal, then a step up

Last month in London, Cabeza and Gonzalez beat Juan Cruz Belluati and Ignacio Piotto 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to reach their first Premier Padel quarterfinal as a team. That run ended against the top seeds, Arturo Coello and Agustin Tapia. Tuesday's win in Madrid puts them back into the second round of a P1, the tour's second highest tier behind the Majors.

What's next

Gonzalez and Cabeza move on to the round of 16 later in the week. Coello and Tapia, the world number ones, are also in the men's draw as they defend the Madrid title they have held in recent seasons.