Saturday Night Fever in AFAS Live

Saturday night it was showtime at the WPT Decathlon Amsterdam with memorable semi-finals in both the women's and men's games. The 3rd-seeded duo Beatriz Gonzalez / Delfina Brea pulled off the match against No2 Gemma Triay and Marta Ortega in three sets. They ensured that the 3,200 spectators were on the edge of their seats for almost three hours.

Spain's Gonzalez is the world number 5 and her Argentinian partner Brea the number 7. They won the first set surprisingly quickly and easily 6-1 and seemed on their way to an easy victory in the second set. However, Triay (world number 3) and Ortega (#6) recovered just in time and dragged out a decisive third set 7-5. Gonzalez/Brea settled the matter 6-4 and celebrated their final spot exuberantly on the centre court of AFAS Live after a battle that lasted almost three hours. Earlier in the day, Paula Josemaria and Ariana Sanchez smoothly qualified for the final as the number one seed by beating Osoro and Castello 6-2 / 6-1. For Josemaria, not only the tournament title is at stake on Sunday, but if she wins, she will also finish 2023 as world number 1.

On the men's side, the spectacle on Saturday night was from a completely different planet. The first set between Spanish 'rockstars' Lebron/Galan and Argentinian pair Stupaczuk/Di Nenno was a true rollercoaster. For no less than 70 minutes, every point was absolutely world-class and a tie-break was needed to force a decision. In it, 'Ale' and Galan (seeded 3rd) seemed to be on their way to winning, but the South Americans (#2) claimed the set for themselves in the end. The crowd went wild and prepared for even more excitement. However, the efforts of the first set seemed to have taken their toll on the Spaniards, as Stupa and Di Nenno waltzed over them 6-0 to qualify for the final on Sunday. There, they will meet fourth-seeded Chingotto and crowd favourite 'Paquito' Navarro, who defeated Tello and Ruiz twice 6-3 on Saturday afternoon.