Contreras and López extend winning run with Paraguay FIP Bronze title

Santino Contreras and Facundo López survived a tight three-set final in Ciudad del Este, rallying past Manuel Gayone and Paraguayan Facundo Dehnike 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 to win the FIP Bronze de Paraguay at the central court of the Complejo M5 Racquet Club.

The result gave the Misiones pair another title only a week after their FIP Silver triumph in Camboriú, Brazil, and it is the kind of run that has turned them into one of the circuit’s most watched partnerships. Argentine coverage has repeatedly labeled them the “misioneros,” a nod to their home province, and the Paraguay victory added to the sense that Contreras and López are building something more durable than a one-off hot streak.

The final showed that in the scoreline itself. After dropping the opening set, Contreras and López reset, forced a tiebreak in the second and held firm long enough to level the match before closing out the decider 6-4. That sequence mattered as much as the trophy: in a field where margins are thin and momentum shifts quickly, winning the points that decide a second set and then finishing under pressure is often what separates a promising pair from one that keeps advancing.

The regional angle has become part of the appeal. Canal Doce Misiones identified Contreras as being from El Soberbio and just 16 years old, while López represents Comandante Andresito. That local identity has given the pair a distinct following back home, and their Paraguay title was framed as another chapter in a run that has already started to move them up the FIP ranking picture.

The broader significance is clear in the way the week unfolded. A FIP result page had already pointed to Contreras-Lopez on a roll in Paraguay, and the August 2 match listing for FIP Bronze Paraguay II involving F. Luis Lopez and S. Contreras showed they were deep into the event before the title was secured. By the time they lifted the trophy in Ciudad del Este, the story was no longer just about one event in Paraguay. It was about a partnership from Misiones stringing together wins, handling pressure, and carrying real momentum into the wider FIP circuit.