Are the national players in the best position on the Master that will play the top 16 in the world from 13 to 16 December in Madrid
Send your question to Paquito Navarro
it Is difficult to see Paquito Navarro (Sevilla, 1989) and Alejandro Galán (Madrid, 1996) without a smile on your face. It is, along with his offensive game and daring, the hallmark of the two best Spanish players of padel. Not only for ranking (Navarro is number 4 and Galán, number 6), also by the amount of audience that they attract to the tracks.
The last example of that follow-up is the Final Master. With the tickets almost sold out, both players will try to conquer the tournament of Masters with their respective partners: Paquito, after the recovery of Bela, he went with Juan Cruz Belluati and Ale Galán will Mati Diaz.
The way to this last stage of the season has not been easy for any of the two. “It has been a year mentally very hard,” says Galán, that this course has won its first two tournaments as a professional (Valladolid and Lugo) with Mati Diaz, but that is living its worst moment after various contests, not to exceed the quarterfinals. Paquito played the first part of the year with Juan Martin Diaz, but ended the regular season with Paul Lima, who won the Open de Bilbao. Between the two couples, Navarro spent his particular odyssey: the breaking of a glass wall in Lisbon that resulted in 100 stitches and lost the Open of Granada.
The Final Master supposed to both be the last opportunity to finish the year with a good taste in your mouth and face the new challenges of the next season. Although the calendar says that it is a proof, it is not a tournament either. “We bring together the best 16 players of the circuit, gives more points, more prizes and the tournament is spread more widely,” says Paquito, who has already won a Master’s degree in 2016, although not with the format of current deletion. This concentration of the best blades of the circuit makes the preparation of the tournament is also special, especially in the psychological aspect. “You play in the first round against some of the best couples, not give you any option. From the first point goes to dog face,” explains Galán.
Play against the Spanish public, where they dispute the majority of the circuit to regulate, is not an added burden to neither of the two players. “That the people you support is a motivation, it is gasoline,” says Navarro. Another thing is the pressure to defend jobs and give everything on the track. “If you don’t have that pressure and you’re dead sportingly,” adds seville.
Never before has the paddle tennis Spanish had placed so many players among the 16 best blades in the world. Not only Paquito and Ale Beau. A new wave of young players, such as Juan Lebrón, Javi Ruiz or Uri Botello, comes stomping and also has managed to square to fight the Master. The quarry, meanwhile, is assured, not only in quantity, also in quality. “There are many players that are going to speak very shortly,” says Galán, who like Navarro, they began to play paddle tennis since childhood and are players who have not passed previously by the courts.
Paquito, who for several years was the only spaniard who was struggling to be in the top places, and see a litter of new players as a reality and a demonstration that “the paddle is no longer a sport of the argentinians with some spaniards or brazilians.” The Masters tournament, with five spaniards among the best 16 players in the world is the best proof of this.
This week to speak of…Final Master 2018
The 16 best blades male and female will be played from Thursday to Sunday in the Madrid Arena, the Masters Tournament. It is the final point of a season of the World Padel Tour, in which for the first time it has played a tournament exclusively female, the WOPEN.
Becomes the ‘King Bela’
Fernando Belasteguín, no. 1 for 16 years, returns to the track after being absent since the month of August for an injury on the right arm. Meanwhile, Paul Lima, his usual partner, has played tournaments with Paquito, Agustín Gómez Silingo and Marcelo Jardim.
Maxi and Sanyo, rivals to beat
Maxi Sanchez and Sanyo Gutierrez have been the greatest dominators of the circuit during the absence of Belasteguín. The argentine couple has won eight of the 15 tournaments played, which has brought them to overtake his countryman in their struggle for the number 1.
The twins, to win the title
In the women’s table, sisters Sanchez Alayeto will seek to reclaim the title achieved in the Master of 2017. Their main rivals will be the pair formed by Marta Marrero and Alejandra Salazar, who this year have won the players in aragon in five tournaments.
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