October 18, 2011
Marcos Madrid Outstanding but No Final Place for Mexico on Home Soil
 Marcos Madrid, a class act on day two in Guadalajara Photo By: Manuel Ramirez |
Courtesy of ITFF Alas for Mexico, his outstanding performances were to be in vain; he remained unbeaten but for the host nation it was semi-final sadness. |
At the quarter-final stage, Mexico, the no.5 seeds, overcame the Dominican Republic, the no.8 seeds by three matches to one to book their place in the penultimate round, where to the chagrin of the home supporters, Argentina, the no.2 seeds, ended progress.
Pulsating Duel
They beat Mexico by three matches to two in a pulsating duel that kept the supporters of both teams on the very edges of their seats from start to finish.
Repeated August 2010 Success
Against the Dominican Republic, Marcos Madrid repeated his August 2010 success.
In the Men’s Singles final in Puerto Rico some 14 months earlier had dazzled to beat Lin Ju. In Guadalajara he repeated the success.
He beat Lin Ju (11-8, 13-11, 15-17, 11-9) to give Mexico the perfect start in their clash against the Dominican Republic.
Followed Suit
Jude Okoh followed suit with victory over Emil Santos (12-10, 11-6, 12-14, 12-10), before the Dominican Republic reduced the arrears, thanks to success for Emil Santos and Juan Vila in opposition to Guillermo Muñoz and Jude Okoh.
They secured the doubles in a close five games struggle (11-7, 4-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-9).
Recovery Thwarted
However, any hopes of a Dominican Republic recovery were quickly thwarted; Marcos Madrid returned to the fray to post a straight games victory over Juan Vila (11-7, 11-2, 11-4).
Marcos Madrid beat Juan Vila to end any hopes of a Dominican Republic recovery
Photo By: Manuel Ramirez
Same Again
Two wins from Marcos Madrid and in the penultimate round against Argentina it was the same situation; two wins from Marcos Madrid.
He beat Liu Song (3-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-6, 11-6) in the opening match of the contest and in the fourth duel, he accounted for Gaston Alto (11-8, 11-5, 11-8).
Pablo Tabachnik in Form
Alas for Mexico it was their only success with Gaston Alto and Liu Song securing the doubles against Guillermo Muñoz and Jude Okoh (11-5, 11-8, 6-11, 11-5) before Pablo Tabachnik steered Argentina home.
In the second contest of the duel he beat Guillermo Muñoz (14-12, 12-10, 8-11, 11-3) and in the concluding confrontation, he kept hearts beating.
Electric Atmosphere
An electric atmosphere prevailed; the Mexicans in the crowd were screaming and chanting the names of the players, hoping against hope that they would secure a place in the final.
The contest went the full five games distance with Pablo Tabachnik saving one match point in the fourth game against Jude Okoh before calling “Time Out”, securing the game and eventually winning the match.
He recovered from a two games to one deficit to beat Judo Okoh in a nail-biting five games full distance encounter (11-8, 6-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8).
Defeat for Guillermo Muñoz (left) and Jude Okoh (right) in the doubles against
Argentina cost Mexico dearly
Photo By: Manuel Ramirez
Maintained Concentration
“After the match, Pablo Tabachnik said that despite the crowd and the tension in the gym, he could keep his concentration in the crucial moments and win the match”, reported Brazil’s Lyanne Kosaka, a former Latin American Women’s Singles champion. “He called the upcoming final against Brazil a "Clasico" and underlined that playing at a Pan Am is very motivating.”
The tournament means a great deal to Pablo Tabachnik, now 33 years old, he would dearly love to secure team gold; four years ago in Rio de Janeiro, standing on the second step of the medal podium, the silver medalist, he was in floods of tears.
It hurt so much.
Less Demanding
A tension packed semi-final but at the quarter-final stage life had been less demanding for Argentina.
They beat Venezuela by three matches to nil.
No Match Surrendered
Liu Song overcame Jonathan Pino (6-11, 11-3, 11-3, 11-8), Gaston Alto defeated Henry Mujica (11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 10-12, 11-9) and matters came to an end with a doubles success.
Gaston Alto and Pablo Tabachnik overcame Marco Navas and Jonathan Pino (11-7, 11-6, 11-9).
Pablo Tabachnik, mentally strong and in superb form guided Argentina to victory over Mexico
Photo By: Manuel Ramirez
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