Altuna III blocks Zabaleta and repeats Manomanista’s final

The semifinal most awaited by all the fans had little journey. The Manomanista has these things. The expectations that the meeting had raised by the state so that the two protagonists were going through went overboard after the sinking of one of them. Altuna III mentally blocked Zabaleta and won the Bizkaia fronton. The Guipuzcoan will repeat the final of the biggest tournament. It will be his third top clash in this specialty. He will face off in fourteen days against Artola on the same stage with the txapela at stake.

There was no match on the Miribilla court. The Navarrese only recognized himself at certain times, and when this happens against rivals of the caliber of the Gipuzkoan it is practically impossible to stand up to him. Altuna III wanted to prove himself against the might of his rival, but he had a much more placid afternoon than expected because he encountered a blurred defender in the first part of the contest.

Zabaleta emphasized this in the choice of material. The key to the duel was in the serve and in the rest. And in this second facet the one from Etxarren was not at all fortunate. His response to his opponent’s opening play was not up to scratch from the first few bars, and the drag was too great.

He had to avoid leaving the ball served, but his discomfort at the time of positioning and releasing the ball was remarkable and there the meeting and the mental strength of the one who dressed in red began to fracture. Concede a hit of twelve consecutive goals, of which seven were with the opening play, it was a blow to the chin that left him stunned because it was the worst start he could imagine in a match of such caliber. Doubts plagued him. Some of the serves went to the center of the court and, although they were cut, they did not have so much difficulty, but he was not able to take advantage of them either.

Altuna III smelled blood and insisted. He realized that his rival did not have the day and grew up, aware that the gap he could open was decisive. Even when Zabaleta managed to get into the rally, Amezketa’s looked fresh on defense and with very clear ideas of where to put the ball to move his opponent and prevent him from raising his head.

Once the broken on the scoreboard, it was enough for the Gipuzkoan to maintain his benefits to avoid problems. The first obligatory break felt good for the defender and it was from then on that he began to show part of the qualities he treasures for this discipline. He enjoyed the ball more, gained height, delayed the position of his opponent and had holes to play a shot. Some of his serves had the necessary bite to do damage and go on to dominate.

With authority

It was then that Altuna III had to squeeze something more and showed that his blow is also fresh and his defense is consistent. This is how he managed to cut the small strokes of Zabaleta. His quality and opportunity in the auction did the rest. Because any wrong decision by his rival, no matter how minimal, meant recovering the serve and strengthening his confidence until the end. Altuna III met the challenge with great authority.