"The number 1 could have lost that condition in Buenos Aires but they return to Spain even more reinforced after winning in the final of the Argentine Masters to its staunchest rivals, Sanyo Gutiérrez and Paquito Navarro, for 6-1 and 7-6." Do not miss this great analysis by Óscar Solé, in which he talks about everything that happened in Buenos Aires.
Padel World Press .- This time I'm going to bore you with some numbers. I like statistics and more because of the meaning they have at this time of the year. As much as the data has passed for many unnoticed (not for players), if the Sevillian and the San Antonio had won the final of Buenos Aires would have advanced in 30 points in the classification to their opponents.
Belasteguín and Lima reached the decisive match with 11.000 points harvested in 2017, against 10.350 of their rivals. With the victory, Paquito-Sanyo would have returned from Argentina with 12.050 (1.700 adds the champion) and Bela-Lima, adding 1.020 as a finalist, would have reached 12.020. With this panorama, the last two dates of the season - the Bilbao Open and the Masters Finals- would have been 'not suitable for the faint of heart.
Since June in 2014 Pablo Lima y Juani Mieres They unseated Juan Martín Díaz-Fernando Belasteguín for a few days from the top of the Ranking. There was not such a close fight for the leadership of the world padel.
Now, the situation is very different. With this third consecutive title, Lima and Bela walk steadily towards their third year as leaders of the classification, the sixteenth for the Argentine ... Almost nothing. They increased their advantage in the season to 1.330 points and only the 1.000 points of the Open de Bilbao and the 1.300 are left at stake, which is awarded for the first time by the 'Masters Tournament'.
The final, from less to more ...
Knowing this situation, the Argentine and the Brazilian came out with the knife between their teeth, especially Lima, by far the great figure of the party. The first unforced error of the match was his, which meant the 0-15 in the initial game. From then on, we do not remember another until the second set averaged.
He started by taking Lima and, after the initial 0-30, 16 consecutive points of the 1 number arrived, something rarely seen in any match and much less between the two best pairs of the Circuit. Two breaks and a blank service for an 4-0 that few would have imagined.
A hint of reaction was seen with that break to serve Lima in the fifth game but, once again, the 'predators' brought out their best version to close the set by 6-1.
Beyond the bulky result, the most striking of all was to check that two monsters like Sanyo and Paquito only managed to make 8 points in the whole set. Yes, they have read well, only 8 points ... The two of the start of the game, the five that were needed to break the service of the Brazilian and the one who signed with Sanyo's serve in the sixth game. Incredible but true.
Luckily (for all the fans who filled the stands of La Rural and those who followed by Streaming), the final had another color in the second set. And that in the third game and everything seemed ready to sentence when Bela and Lima broke the serve of the Sevillian and immediately consolidated: 3-1 and, except for the desire that showed Paquito, little could be expected.
However, a succession of breaks between the sixth and the ninth game, returned the emotion to Palermo. The audience came up, encouraged Paquito as if it were Seville, and the magic of Sanyo appeared with a couple of subtle touches of the house, taking the ball out the door. Total madness in La Rural ...
But the number 1s did their thing again. In the eleventh game they again broke the Spanish serve and Bela had the title in her hands ... But she failed. Yes, geniuses also fail in important moments and Pehuajó rushed in a couple of decisions in the twelfth game, when the first two match balls appeared (40-15) and they had another one. There those who did not hesitate were Sanyo and Paquito ... They were their last cartridges and they took advantage of them. They broke and took the definition to the tie break.
Sudden death defined the title. The almighty Lima defended as always and defined as never before. A machine the Brazilian, loved by the Argentines (the paradoxes that this beautiful sport called paddle has).
Jumps of joy, the kisses of Bela with their parents, the repetition of the Argentinian singing Olé, Olé, Olé that, as I said, excites even the Chinese and ... Goodbye Argentina.
This time we had to enjoy it from afar but the audience moved us again, as always. That unique passion that infects you. The pity is that the tour continues to have a single date in Argentina and not one in Brazil, as Lima himself claimed at the end. But it will come. We are sure that one day Lima will be able to celebrate before its people and in many other corners of the planet. A ten for many friends who, once again, have shown that things can be done well… Maru, El Chino, El Bocha; anyway, people who know about this ... People of PÉDEL.
Until the next and PUNTAKO Friends !!
Óscar Solé
Image: World Padel Tour
* You can follow all the news of the world of paddle in our profiles of Facebook y Twitter as well as subscribe to our Newsletter .
