Pablo Carreno He is one of the best Spanish players of the last decade and since this Saturday, he is part of the history of national tennis after qualifying for the final in the Canada Masters 1000, the first for him in this category, because he is the second tennis player from the Navy to achieve it there, after Rafa Nadal, five times champion. He had been left with honey on his lips in 2017, when he fell against Wawrinka in the Indian Wells semifinals, and in 2018 the same thing happened to him in Miami, his executioner was Zverev. In Montreal he did not fail. He had not lost a set in the previous four matches and lost one against Daniel Evans, but won 7-5, 6-7 (7) and 6-2 in 2h58. This Sunday (10:00 p.m., #Vamos), in the most important game of his career, he will try to beat the Pole Hubert Hurkacz, winner in Miami last year, with whom he has a one-win face-to-face match (last year beat him in Cincinnati).
“It has been more fun for people, for me it has been hard, with this match ball that I lost in the second set. Having to play another player is always difficult, but mentally I was fine and I decided to be more aggressive, press and go to the net”, Carreño said.who was brave and did not shy away from the fight at any time against the 32-year-old Briton and 39th in the world, tireless despite the fact that he had played 11 sets in four games, plus two doubles with four tiebreakers (later he had to play the semifinals with Peers against Zielinski and Hurkacz). A guy with a very good hand near the net, who raises a lot and frequently uses an annoying slice backhand.
Against that Carreño fought with his good serves, with his controlled and accurate two-handed backhand, and with the occasional drive to accumulate 41 winning shots without fear of error. He only had two bad moments in the game. At the beginning of the first set he failed more than necessary and at the start of the second he conceded a 0-3 that he was about to revert with tenacity, although it escaped him that match point in the tiebreaker, which would have prevented an unwanted third set.
tremendous ending
However, he was not lazy and played it with determination and mastery, taking advantage of the first signs of fatigue from Evans, whom he had never faced. He managed to intimidate him and swept him in one last game, which he won the rest to and love. “Why not now. This was one of the worst years of my career, with only one final, in Barcelona, and the semifinals in Bastad, but this week, I don’t know why, the level has been incredible. I played very good matches at the beginning, and yesterday and today, without doing so well, I was able to win”, he analyzed about the performance of the tournament, before a final that he faces with the support of his father, who is in Montreal, and “excited”. “For me it is very important to go out, give my best and be aggressive.” That is the attitude, the blood of the Navy.
