London Premier Padel P1: Christian Medina Murphy reflects on positives after second round exit at Olympia
• 2 minutes read
British No.1 Christian Medina Murphy's run at the London Premier Padel P1 came to an end in the second round after he and Spanish partner Alberto Garcia Jimenez were beaten by Argentine pair Juan Tello and Maximiliano Arce Simo.
Medina Murphy's run at the biggest professional padel tournament ever staged on British soil came to an end on Wednesday as he and Garcia Jimenez were beaten 6-2, 6-1 by Tello and Arce Simo.
The British, Spanish pair, ranked No.173 and No.142 in the world respectively, were unable to find a way past the experienced 10th seeds, who are ranked over 100 places higher than them at No.18 and No.27.
The Argentinians controlled the contest throughout, winning 76% of points behind their first serve and wrapping up victory in just over an hour to secure their place in the last 16.
Despite the defeat, Medina Murphy is focusing on the positives from what has been a memorable week in his career.
One of six British players awarded a wild card into the main draw, the 27-year-old became the only home player to record a first round victory at Olympia when he and Garcia Jimenez defeated Agustin Gutierrez and Santino Giuliani Lombardo on Tuesday.
That victory also saw Medina Murphy become the first British player to win a Premier Padel P1 match on home soil.
Reflecting on his second round performance, the British No.1 was proud of the fight shown against one of the world's best padel pairs.
“I feel good because I think we fought until the end,” Medina Murphy said. “We tried our best, they are an amazing pair, they are 10th seeds – they’re obviously better than us. We were trying to be closer on the scoreboard but at the end, they were putting their rhythm on the game.
Looking back on the week as a whole, Medina Murphy highlighted the opportunity to compete in front of a home crowd at this level and test himself against some of the world's best players.
“A lot of positives (to take),” he added. “I saw a lot of people here on the first days watching the games, supporting me and supporting all the players. I think that’s amazing news for British padel.
“I think we performed really well. We won the first round, that’s a really, really good result and I’m really excited to be fighting against the best in the world - let’s see what’s coming next."
Medina Murphy's performance in West London underlines the value of hosting elite padel tournaments in Britain, with players able to gain experience against world-class opposition while competing for ranking points and prize money on home soil.
Although British interest in the draws has now come to an end, there is still plenty of the world's best international stars in action at Olympia.
In the men's draw, top seeds Agustin Tapia and Arturo Coello remain on course to become the inaugural London Premier Padel P1 champions, while women's top seeds Gemma Triay Pons and Delfina Brea Senesi continue their pursuit of the crown.
You can watch all the action from the London Premier Padel P1 via the Premier Padel YouTube channel, Red Bull TV and TNT Sports.
