by The story began on Monday outdoors on outdoor court number 11. Thomas Etcheverry and Bernabe Zapata Miralles suspended due to lack of natural light, with the Spaniard up two sets to one. Yesterday it should continue on the same court, but due to the rain that started at 12 noon and did not stop for the rest of the day, everything indicated that the match had a new suspension and that it would only start again today.
However, around night there was a change of plans: the tournament had decided to move the game to indoor court number one and play it yesterday in the last turn.
The battle lasted 4:36 hours, after which the argentinian won the victory and went to the second round by 6-7(5) 7-5 6-3 6-4 7-5 in a marathon encounter with a number of ups and downs that could have led him to either side but resulted in an unforgettable victory for Etcheverry and Argentine tennis.
After his victory yesterday, today Tomi Etcheverry will try to bring down a triple Grand Slam champion, Stan Wawrinka.
Hand in hand with Tomás Etcheverry
– You came with doubts since last week in your first game on grass and now you had this terrible one with Zapata Miralles that gave you everything back. As you saw?
If the truth is a very solid player, he is always very feisty like us Argentines. It’s very special to get this win for me because last week, it’s true, It was a very hard match that I playedbut this is a surface that is very difficult for us.
– You played Monday, Tuesday and now Wednesday against Wawrinka, who has already won Australia, Roland Garros and the US Open.
I think I have a very difficult game, obviously he is a player with much more experience than me but I like the idea of playing every day because I come with rhythm. Today I already felt totally different from what I was yesterday and I think it is a very difficult challenge. It is so, and I have to think about it.
– It seems to me that you are gaining the respect and support of the public. How did you feel from the inside?
It was very special to have the people in my favor, it gives me more strength, the truth is that winning a game is very difficult in these situations and they gave me the strength to continue. From the first start I already heard the breath towards me and that was beautifulHow when I played in Argentina as well and in the Roland Garros quarterfinals was also incredible. That is something that gives a plus.
– Is there something that changes between brick dust and grass in terms of the fatigue that one surface represents to you and the other?
I think so, here I have to lower my legs a lot more, the ball stings much less and that also brings other pain when I stop and get cold, but honestly I don’t know the surface much yet. Today was a special situation because when playing on a covered court less air enters, so perhaps I feel that I am more tired but in theory it is because the air does not enter much. I think that as I play more games I’m going to realize it and I’m going to see which surface is more difficult for me.
