I’ve had the opportunity to play three tournaments in a row in the last few weeks, which has allowed me to rediscover the good feeling of the game, have fun, and continue to grow as a player.
The first stop was at WPT Valladolid. The word that accompanied us during the whole tournament was suffering. There wasn’t a single match that allowed us a break, but perhaps the match that could well reflect that was the one we played against Capra/Godo Diaz where we won in the tie break of the third set after countless match points for and against. Overcoming matches like this makes us grow as a pair and reinforces the idea of the daily work that Aday and I have been doing throughout the year.
We got into the quarterfinals against the revelation pair of the tournament, Chingoto/Tello, who, despite starting on top on the scoreboard, didn’t find their best version to emerge victorious from the duel. We could only congratulate the guys who fought to the end and deservedly won a ticket to their first WPT semifinal.
Secondly, I participated in the World Padel Tour Challenger in Murcia with Ramiro Moyano, a player I admire and had a lot of fun playing with. I also played on a friendly padel court, as it is the same one where I won the Pilar de la Horadada Challenger, a Manzaport court, where I feel very comfortable. The opportunity to participate in different tournaments with great players like Stupa, Moyano or my current partner Aday, gives me a lot of tools and a constant growth of my game, because the adaptation to new partners and their way of playing must be done in a natural but immediate way, otherwise the tournament will be over very soon.
In Murcia, we played the first rounds at a very high level against pairs that have played great tournaments, such as Gadea/Tamame or Escalante/Bueno, solving the matches with authority, enjoying and savoring the matches very intensely and with pleasure. Rami was getting stronger and stronger and continuing with his recovery process of rhythm and game sensations, after overcoming a very serious injury. In the semifinals we fell against two great players and friends like Alex Ruiz and Javier Concepcion after having two match points and a fairly constant control of the match. But the sport implies that any mistake or drop in intensity gives the opponents an opportunity to win, and which is what happened. That was the end of our tournament, from which, despite being losing in the semifinals, I took a good taste in my mouth for the game developed and the sensations of sharing the court with a great player like Ramiro.
Without much rest we headed to Mijas, our last stop, to play one of the hardest tournaments I can remember, not only because of the level of play that the WPT has been showing, but also because of the heat and the wind. A few challenging first matches in which my partner, Aday, showed his talent and experience, allowed us to return to the quarterfinals of the tournament, where the heat and wind, had been actively participating in. And so it happened, in the quarterfinal match against Lamperti/Mieres the strong wind made an appearance, and we couldn’t adapt as well as our opponents. We had real chances, but we were not able to take advantage of them, and therefore our feeling that we could have gotten more out of this match, made us leave Mijas with a bittersweet aftertaste that we hope to correct in the next tournament.
Now our goal is to reach the semifinals again and settle in the Master Finals positions in the near future, , and for that we have been working hard these last weeks.
Next stop, Worl Padel Tour Gran Canaria Open. Here we go!