The mattress is becoming less and less dense for Peio Etxeberria and Rezusta. Your margin for error is exhausted. With four days left for the … At the conclusion of the Couples quarterfinals they only have a couple of points in the standings, when the six are the ones who have made the cut to stay alive in the competition in recent years. In the past ten seasons in only two cases has a combination needed five to occupy the sixth place that allowed it to move forward.
Zenotz’s and Bergara’s are played today (8:45 p.m.), at the complicated Daniel Ugarte fronton in Hendaye, a good part of their options to maintain hope until the end. They will have as rivals Larrazabal and Mariezkurrena II, two hitters who can bring out a lot of shine on the fast ground of the court in the Basque-French town.
Those who will wear red have to their credit that it was against these rivals that they got one of the points they have. They achieved it in the Barañain fronton, which does not look much like the one they will play tonight. The Cuatro y Medio champion and his partner are not taking off. They started the competition poorly – they had five consecutive defeats – which generated greater pressure and lack of confidence. And, although they have improved their performance over the last few days, they are still mired in a spiral from which they cannot escape.
They lack continuity and link more than one victory so that they stop believing that it is possible. They were close to achieving it in the last two days after playing a very tough game at Adarraga against Zabala and Martija, but they saw how Elordi and Zabaleta brought them back to reality in Mungia. They won the duel (5-14 and 15-19) but were unable to close it.
In Hendaye they will face rivals in the middle of the fight to maintain third place, because they are tied with two other couples, and located just one victory away from the second, which gives direct access to the semifinals and saves extra efforts at a key moment in the competition. Larrazabal and Mariezkurrena II, however, have not started the second round well. They have suffered two defeats, the last one last weekend, and they cannot be neglected in the slightest if they want to keep their chances of reaching the sprint in the lead.
En Getaria
The eleventh day opens a couple of hours earlier (7:00 p.m.) at the Sahatsaga fronton in Getaria with the duel between the two combinations that are tied on points with the Alavés and the Navarrese. Jaka and Iztueta and Zabala and Martija also want their space in the most attractive area of the table. Aspe’s team is strong. Through suffering they have achieved their last two triumphs that have tasted like glory despite the waste. Baiko’s team still needs the defender to recover his most exquisite version after the decline suffered, but he is on the right path.
Tomorrow (17.15) at the Atano III in San Sebastián Artola returns after recovering from his hand injury and, together with Imaz, will face Elordi and Zabaleta. The Biscayan and the Navarrese are second in the standings and need a new victory to avoid seeing their position in danger. To do this they will have to achieve continuity in their game that they have been missing in some matches, although some have been successful.
And for Sunday (17.15) there is the most spicy duel at the Navarra Arena in Pamplona between Altuna III-Ezkurdia and Laso-Albisu. The seconds are solid leaders of Couples with only one defeat and do not take their foot off the accelerator, while the combination of forwards – sixth in the table – arrives hurt by the latest results and is therefore dangerous.
