Gala and Diestro Face Italy's Abbate and Montiel in Mediterranean Games Men's Padel Final

Spain and Italy will meet for the men's padel gold medal at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto on Friday night, after David Gala and Jose Antonio Diestro battled past Portugal's Deus brothers and Flavio Abbate and Alvaro Montiel outlasted fellow Italians in an all-tricolor semifinal.

How they got here

Gala and Diestro needed two tight sets to see off Nuno and Miguel Deus, winning 7-5, 7-5 at the Parco del Mediterraneo Salinella. Both sets reached 5-5 before the Spanish pair found the breaks they needed to close it out.

Abbate and Montiel had a longer night. They beat compatriots Marco Cassetta and Simone Iacovino 7-6, 6-1 in a semifinal that ran past midnight, denying Italy an all-Italian final and sending Cassetta-Iacovino into the bronze medal match against the Deus brothers instead.

What's at stake

Padel is competing for the first time as a medal sport at the Mediterranean Games, and gold in the men's draw is the biggest prize of the week for either federation. Spain has already locked up the women's gold, with an all-Spanish final between Patty Llaguno-Lucia Sainz and Nuria Rodriguez-Jimena Velasco played earlier Friday. A men's title would hand Spain a padel double on the sport's Games debut.

Host nation Italy is chasing its own piece of history. Marco Cassetta and Giulia Dal Pozzo already reached the mixed final against Portugal's Araujo siblings, so a win for Abbate and Montiel would give Italy a share of the golds on padel's opening night as a medal event.

The men's final is scheduled for Centre Court at Parco del Mediterraneo Salinella, not before 19:00 CEST on Friday.