Two Grand Slams
Gernika--July 13, 20, 27, semis-August 3, FINAL-AUGUST 10
Hondarribia--July 19, 26, August 2, 9, semis-August 16, FINAL-AUGUST 23.
6 teams will contest the Grand Slams. They will consist of an "A" Group and a "B" Group which will play a single round robin. The top two in each group will face off in the Semi-finals. The two winners will then play in the Final.
Three Master Series
Markina: Quarter finals--July 7; Semi-finals--July 14, FINAL--JULY 16
Lekeitio: Semi-finals--July 28; FINAL--AUGUST 4
Zumia: 1/4--September 6, 13; 1/2--September 20; FINAL--SEPTEMBER 27
There may be other Master series as well. The full schedule is still "pending."
JAWT Announcement
JAWT brochure (.pdf format,9p.)
Complete (at present) calendar (JAWT)
Ongoing results (JAWT)
JAWT Players Page
Due to the manner in which the Masters and Grand Slams will be intertwined, as well as the chronological length of the Grand Slams, the blog will cover this tour in weekly increments, mixing tournaments. The latest scores and links to match stories can be found either on the right side of any blog post, or at the Current Results page, which is also used to show current results on mobile phones (and can also be found with the "pages" on the right side of the blog).
An up to date player table is always available at the "current results" page, and a cumulative table will be presented at the bottom of each blog post.
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July 7-16--Markina Masters (complete); Gernika Grand Slam (League)
July 19-20 Hondarribia Grand Slam (League); Gernika Grand Slam (League)
July 26-28--Hondarribia Grand Slam (League); Gernika Grand Slam (League); Lekeitio Masters (Semi-finals)
August 2-4--Hondarribia Grand Slam (League); Gernika Grand Slam (Semi-Finals), Lekeitio Masters (Final and 3rd Place match)
August 9-16--Gernika Grand Slam (Final); Hondarribia Grand Slam (League) and Semi-finals
August 20-October 28--END OF SEASON--Hondarribia Final, Zumaia Masters, Ciudad San Sebastian Open, Gernika Urriko Open
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INJURY REPORT:
July 13, 2019
(Unai) Lekerika: Lekerika suffered a "cintura" (waist) injury in his July 13 opening Liguilla Group A match in the Gernika Grand Slam competition. He was unable to play in his Markina Masters semi-final match with Arbe v Erik (Mendizabal)-Irastorza on July 14. He was replaced by Ekhi. See below for contexts and outcomes under "Master Series Markina." When Lekerika will return is unknown.
July 7, 2019
Jean Olharan: Olharan missed his Quarter final match in the Master Series Markina, still feeling the effects of the shoulder injury he played through in the Fronton Mexico in the Moises Cosio Gomez Copa Premier League Final on June 30. When he will return to action is unknown at this time
Ludovic Laduche: Laduche suffered a severe tendon injury in the April 26, 2019 FFPB (Federation Francais de Pelote Basque Pro-Am Final. He missed the entire Fronton Mexico season and returned as a substitute for Olharan in the Master Series Markina on July 7. For more on Laduche's injury, including full match video of the match he was injured in, check the NEWS AND INJURY ARCHIVE OF THIS BLOG. Injuries are listed under obituaries and news items, in reverse chronological order. Modalities are mixed together.
Matches are played in sets, two to 15. Tie breaker to 5. 5 pasas (over serves) are allowed. After that an over serve is a fault. Any under serve is an immediate fault (Error corrected August 3, 2019).
Grand Slam Gerrnika Liguilla matches and Markina Masters full Tournament
The teams:
Group A: Goikoetxea-(Unai) Lekerika; Erik (Mendizabal)-Etxeto; Hormatxea-Ibon (Aldazabal)
Group B: Diego (Beaskoetxea)-Lopez; (Xabier) Barandika-Ekhi; Egiguren-Inza
July 13
Liguilla Round 1
Group A Round 1 Table (wins-losses, set wins-losses; .3 is added for a tie breaker win
Goikoetxea-(Unai) Lekerika (1-0; 1.3-1)
Hormaetxea-Ibon (Aldazabal) (0-0; 0-0)
Erik (Mendizabal)-Etxeto (0-1; 1-1.3)
FULL MATCH VIDEOS FOR BOTH MATCHES (EITB--first match is (Diego) Beaskoetxea-Lopez v (Zabier) Barandika-Ekhi, followed by Goikoetxea-(Unai) Lekerika v Erik (Mendizabal)-Etxeto)
Group A
Goikoetxea-(Unai) Lekerika 2 Erik (Mendizabal)-Etxeto 1
(15-12; 13-15; 5-3) (33-30)
Selected linescore (Jai Alai News Facebook) (winners always listed first)
Set 1:
5-1; 6-2; 10-10; 15-12
Match article (Jai Alai News Facebook)
Match article (Jai Alai World Tour)
Group B Round 1 Table
(Diego) Beaskoetxea-Lopez (1-0; 1.3-1)
Egiguren-Inza (0-0; 0-0)
(Xabier) Barandika-Ekhi (0-1; 1-1.3)
Group B
Diego (Beaskoetxea)-Lopez 2 (Xabier) Barandika-Ekhi 1
(15-10; 12-15; 5-1) (32-26)
Selected linescore (Jai Alai News Facebook) (winners always listed first)
Set 1:
6-6; 7-7; 10-7; 13-8; 14-9; 15-10
Match article (Jai Alai News Facebook)
Match article (final paragraph of article) (JAWT)
The first two Liguilla matches were won by the favorites, but not before they overcame strong opposition. Both D-L and G-L won when it counted, in the tie breaker. The match article discusses a somewhat depleted Lopez explaining why he felt "weak" during the match (residual weight loss from antibiotic treatment received in Mexico). He did manage "a cortada from the 8" line and a "perfect chula." Barandika and Ekhi were both complemented on their performance.
G-L had a difficult match against E-E. Erik, after missing the last two season's summer partidos, opened this season with a strong performance, according to the match article.
An interesting sidelight was that the players wore microphones so the fans could hear them.
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July 16
FINAL
(15-9, 15-11) (30-20)
(EIBT Full match video--match begins at 1:15:00 on the video) (ADDED July 21, 2019).
(EIBT Full match video--match begins at 1:15:00 on the video) (ADDED July 21, 2019).
Video Highlights (EITB)
Selected linescores (Deia, Hitza, and Jai Alai News Facebook ) (winners always listed 1st)
Set 1:
3-1; 7-4; 10-4; 12-5; 12-9; 15-9
Set 2:
9-8; 13-11; 15-11
Scoring (Deia):
Mendizabal +15 (including 5 service aces) -3; Irastorza +3 -5
Hormaetxea +11 -7; Aldazabal +1 -5
Balls in Play: 332
Time of the match: 61:20
Match preview article (Deia, via Jai Alai News Facebook)
Match article (Deia, via JANF)
Match article (Hitza, via JANF)
Match article (JANF)
Match article (Jai Alai World Tour)
Opening Match "Friendly" (Source: JANF)
(15-12; 10-15; 5-2) (30-29)
EITB Full match video--match begins at 0:00 on the video (ADDED July 21 2019)
After losing a tough Gernika Grand Slam Liguilla match on July 13, Erik (Mendizabal) came back with a very strong performance, winning 2 matches in 3 days, as he and the other Eric (Irastorza) won the Markina Masters in straight sets, dominating their opponents by 60-42. Erik M. had a magnificent final (+15 (including 5 aces) -3), scoring half his team's total points. Hormaetxea, who had begun the summer with 4 consecutive wins (two in the St. Jean de Luz play in tournament, and the Quarter and Semi-finals in this tournament), lost for the first time. He had a good match (+11 -7), but Erik M. had a better one.
The other noteworthy news about this tournament was the injuries that effected it. Jean Olharan is still feeling the effects of the shoulder injury he played through in the Final at Fronton Mexico and missed his Quarter final match. He was replaced by Ludovic Laduche, coming back off a serious injury of his own (see above). Also, Unai Lekerika was injured in his Gernika Liguilla match (see above) and missed his semi-final here.
The surprise of the tournament was the upset by Hormaetxea-(Aimar) Aldazabal over Goikoetxea-Ibon (Aldazabal) in the semi-finals. Aimar, playing in his first 3 matches in the back after a long career in the front, played well, winning 2 of them, and playing a crucial role in the upset (see below).
July 14
Semi-finals
Erik (Mendizabal)-Irastorza 2
(Jokin) Arbe-Ekhi (substituting for (Unai) Lekerika 0
(15-14; 15-8) (30-22)
Hormaetxea-(Aimar) Aldazabal 2
Goikoetxea-Ibon (Aldazabal) 1
(15-4; 13-15; 5-3) (33-22)
H-A won tie breaker on a great Aimar save of a Goikoetxea winner, followed immediately by a backhand chula. It was Aimar's second ever match in the back court.
Match article for both matches (Jai Alai News Facebook)
Match article for both matches (Jai Alai World Tour)
July 7
Quarter finals:
Quarter-final Preview (JAWT)
(Jokin) Arbe-(Unai) Lekerika) 2
(Xabier) Barandika-(Enaut) Salegi 0
(15-9, 15-12) (30-21)
All four players were complemented on good play. Arbe, Leke, and Salegi were pointed out by name.
Hormatxea-(Aimar) Aldazabal) 2
Laduche (substituting for Olharan)-Inza 0
(15-14, 15-9) (30-23)
H-A came from behind to win the first set. Aimar played his first match in the back court.
Match article for both matches (Jai Alai News Facebook)
Current JAWT Ranking (through Markina Masters)
Classification explanation (see items #8 and 9)
Cumulative record of JAWT players
Key: Player, match w-l, set w-l (5 pt. tie breaker worth .3) Tournaments won. Current through July 16, 2019
Masters: MM (Markina) ML (Lekeitio)
Grand Slam: GG (Gernika) GH (Hondarribia)
Delanteros (front)
Diego (Beaskoetxea); 1-0; 1.3-1
Erik (Mendizabal); 2-1; 5-1.3; MM
Hormaetxea; 2-1; 3.3-3
Goikoetxea; 1-1; 2.3-2.3
(Jokin) Arbe; 1-1; 2-2
Laduche: 0-1; 0-2
(Xabier) Barandika; 0-2; 1-3.3
Zagueros (back)
Irastorza 2-0; 4-0; MM
(Unai) Lekerika; 2-0; 3.3-1
Lopez; 1-0; 1.3-1
(Aimar) Aldazabal; 2-1; 3.3-3
Ibon (Aldazabal) 0-1; 1-1.3
Etxeto 0-1; 1-1.3
Inza; 0-1; 0-2
Salegi; 0-1; 0-2
Ekhi; 0-2; 1-3.3
