A right wrist injury forced him to undergo surgery twice. Although he experienced very complicated moments, the member of the StarVie Team He never gave up his dream of success in this sport and in 2016, since he joined his path to Diogo Rocha, he began to recover both the good feelings and the confidence in his game. Do not miss the first part of our talk with both the Bilbao and the Portuguese.
Padel World Press .- A coincidence, one of those quirks of fate wanted Andoni and Diogo to be partners from the Valladolid Open ... From that moment, both were growing as a couple until the end of the campaign offering a very good image and participating in several vibrant meetings.
Very empathetic both on and off the track, it is official that they will not continue together in 2017 and, therefore, before closing this chapter in their careers, we wanted to talk to them to tell us how they lived this project, in which they were shown to have the potential and talent to fight against any rival.
How and when was the possibility that you played together?
Andoni: At the Lisbon Challenger I had a lot of time to watch games. My Protected Ranking was running out and, with the few points that I had been able to collect, I had to find a reliable partner to fight from below. Diogo and his partner in that test, Joao, did more than very well. Almost by chance, when I greeted the President of the Portuguese Federation and one of his sponsors, Ricardo, we saw together that it could be a beautiful project. Ricardo is not someone who wastes his time ... So he called me a while later and he himself accompanied me to the club's gym where Diogo was waiting for me (not doing weights ... hahaha). From that meeting to three everything came out.
Diogo: It arose in the Challenger of Lisbon. There I was left without a partner and I knew Andoni was also looking for one. As Andoni trained with Juan Manuel Rodríguez, our Portugal coach, we thought it would be good for both of us to unite our ways.
How was the season before and how was it since you joined your paths?
Andoni: The season had started badly for me. In the first tournament, my teammate Edu Bainad suffered an injury in the first match, then we fell in first rounds against Lima-Bela and Diaz-Gutierrez. In Madrid, we fell back into the Previa, in this case with Gerard Company. Two partners in four tests and I had planned to play the next two appointments on the calendar with Nacho Gadea. In between, the Challenger of Lisbon was disputed, to which I had not planned to go although at the end I went with the one who was my coach, Juanma Rodriguez. If I'm not mistaken, there I won my first WPT game of the year against Derito-Cutu Pérez. It was a shock that came to the third set and in which we had a bit of luck.
Diogo: I was with Pincho Fernández and I think things were going well for us. In the Masters of Barcelona we had 5-2 and match point against Raúles, Díaz and Marcos, to make Cuadro. We were making good tournaments but he started receiving invitations from other players better in the Ranking and he thought about changing.
What have you contributed to each other? In what do you think you have improved thanks to the fact of having been companions?
Andoni: Diogo is a very talented player, very humble and with a great capacity to learn. We started in the Pre-Preview, without being even heads of series, behind many of the rivals we faced and who we ended up facing together, as a couple. Perhaps what I have improved the most with him is the ability to trust my partner and to learn to play more as a team. At first I was not overly confident and Diogo was the one who gave it back to me ... That is why I have a special thanks.
Diogo: Andoni is a crack and a very aggressive player, who gave me many 'free' points. I just had to build the points well because Andoni has an impressive definition. I think that at his side I began to believe that we could fight equally for all the Pre-Previa and Pre-Pairs.
What have been the best moments you have lived together?
Andoni: The truth is that there have been many good times, both on and off the track. Diogo is an 10 person. In sports, the first great joy was in the Canary Islands, when we went up in the second round of Pre-Previa a match ball in the second set against Quilez-Mercadal, who had been playing very well, and we ended up winning.
Another small step forward was in Seville. After losing to Gadea-Luque in La Nucia, we beat them in 3 very tight sets. Our sponsor, Ricardo, came from Portugal to see us play our first entry into the Draw that afternoon. Without success that time ...
I cannot forget the tournament in A Coruña, in which for the first time we got into an Open Draw ... Nor the tournament in my land, the Euskadi Open, in which we did it again but this time without losing a single set in Pre-Preview and Preview and, falling in 3 sets in the round of XNUMX because, in part, we had no more fuel left.
Diogo: The WPT Table A Coruña. I very much wanted to make a Table of an Open or a Master and we were losing many times in the last round of the Preview. Getting to achieve my goal in Galician lands will be unforgettable for me.
Any anecdote that can be told about your joint adventure
Andoni: A sports ... We played the Preview of an international tournament in Madrid. Diogo came straight from playing a national test in Portugal, with his feet full of blisters and as he had recognized me, a little tired ... At 3-3 of the first set I saw him leaning against the glass taking air. I went over to ask him what was wrong and he was cramping! We won the game, I had to run more than necessary and we argued a little after the game.
The next day Diogo was waiting for me at the club. I was late and this time he asked me what was wrong with me. My answer was I had been vomiting all night and I was not on my feet, so… it was his turn to run. We incredibly won a match in 3 sets in the morning and in the afternoon we had to withdraw. I think that tournament we were not destined to win.
Diogo: At WPT La Nucía we finished a game very late and went to the hotel. The beds were very bad and we had to change the hotel very late and among many smiles. It was not easy to get it since it was almost all full.
What has led them to separate their ways? With what illusion will they face their next challenges? Stay very attentive to Padel World Press because in the coming days we will offer you the second part of this interview.
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