Zabala: “I only know how to play ball with my left foot, I’m a sucker for everything else”

Javier Zabala (Logroño, 26 years old) has taken a leap in quality after successfully completing five substitutions in the Couples Championship, including three for Altuna III. He is at the gates of the Manomanista de Primera semi-finals. If he beats Iñaki Artola on Saturday at the Labrit, he will sneak into the top four of the competition. Even if he loses he will have some option left.

– The match against Ezkurdia ended with his right hand injured. How are you?

– Better. The pain subsides. I have not chosen heels in the choice of material and my intention is to complete a racquetball training in the next few hours. I have focused on recovering my hand. I have limited myself to making hands from four to four and testing the placement of the cues.

– And the left?

– Perfect. I rarely suffer from that hand even though I hit the ball with it harder and more times.

– It is the first time that he faces Artola in the Manomanista, but there is a precedent between the two in the modality.

– We played at Labrit in July of last year as part of the Oil Challenge. It was the last of the three games and it didn’t decide anything because my teammates from Aspe had won the previous two. He beat me 18-16.

– However, you led the score 5-8, 6-11 and 15-16.

– We were both in worse circumstances than now. It was a pretty tough match. I had the initiative on the scoreboard for quite some time. We have both taken a step forward and something bigger is at stake than then.

– How can Artola be harmed?

– He is a very complete pelota player with great qualities for one-on-one play. He holds up well physically. I’ll try to get you out of his place. Perhaps the volley is his least strong point. To do this I will have to play aggressively, look for angles and hold on when it’s time to be behind. Iñaki has a good basement. He also hits it with his right foot. He enjoys it a lot. He gains height on the front and sends you to six. I will try to break his schemes, a complicated task.

– The victory puts him in the semifinals. If he loses, he will need Ezkurdia to beat Elordi on Sunday in Bilbao.

– When you use mathematics, it means that something is not right. I haven’t done the math on the score it would take to qualify if I lose. Like every day, I will try to go for 22. Surely Artola, although he is already classified, will also do so.

– What material do you like for one-on-one play on the entire court?

– Generally, I prefer fast ball. I have found that kind of material in the choice. Allows you to do damage with the serve. I like to hit it from the side with my left foot and I try to punish from the bounce.

– To what factors do you attribute the evident progression of your game and results?

– Confidence, believing in myself and feeling capable of competing with the greats. I have always been professional in everything. It was before too. So perhaps I felt an obligation to take advantage of the few opportunities that were presented to me. I wanted to be aggressive and squeeze everything inside the three. The substitutions in the Couples Championship caught me in good shape and the victories gave me confidence.

– Trust seems to be the magic word. Will there be anything more?

– I see myself as more patient, not so crazy on the court. I have also defended better during these last few months. At the end of last year I started doing the plays I practiced in training in games and I didn’t dare to do them in games.

– His left foot draws attention.

– With that hand I only know how to play ball, although I lack the left volley, a position in which I am not good at it. For everything else I’m a left-handed idiot. I write and eat with my right hand.

– Do you like Labrit?

– Very noble pediment, all the pelotaris like it. Plus, there’s always a great atmosphere.

– You won’t be left without a wine rack on Saturday.

– I will have one for sure. Xabi Rekalde plays the GRABNI final at four in Vitoria and he has told me that he will try to get to Pamplona for the match. If not, Jokin Etxaniz. Either one is fine for me.

– Why did you choose Rekalde?

– He makes everything very easy for me when I get to the chair. I feel comfortable with him. We established contact because he played in the Spanish Championship with the San Cosme club and I was the one who acted as his botillero. We have fit in well.

– Miguel Munción says that Zabala is an athlete capable of running very fast.

– I have always liked running. Joaquín Plaza recommended that I put the ball aside and dedicate myself to athletics. He didn’t convince me. He threw the ball at me a lot more.

– Did you practice other sports?

– I did everything until I was 13 or 14 years old. Basketball, soccer, tennis, ball… There came a time when I had to choose because I couldn’t dedicate myself fully to all the disciplines. Both my family and I were leaning towards the ball and that was the choice.

– How was your tennis going?

– I competed mainly at the La Rioja level. I have a thorn in my mind as to how far I could have gone.

– How many siblings do you have?

– I am the oldest of three. My sister is a year and a half younger and I have been with the little one for ten years. They both play basketball on teams in Logroño.

– Zabala is not a surname of Riojan origin.

–My great-grandfather was from a village in Abadiño. He came to work in Anguiano, where he met my great-grandmother, and settled there. In my house they say that when he arrived he did not speak Spanish.

2024-05-01 05:06:01
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