Remonte--Xanti Uterga's magnificent 4 months

On February 14, 2019 Xanti Uterga, (Oriamendi2010 Group A delantero (front court)) lost a "Star Match"--Oriamendi's 2nd of 4 matches, the Marquee match of each program on Thursdays and Saturdays at Galarreta Fronton, Hernani  (1) (2) (about 9.2 Km [5.7 miles] from Donostia (San Sebastian)). It was the first time he lost a doubles match after 12 wins in a row, going back to December 13, 2018. In that time he beat his main rival for top front court player on the Oriamendi2010 roster, Jabier Urriza, 4 times. Few if any Remonte players beat Urriza 4 times in a row. Three of the 12 were wins in the Torneo Parejas ORONA, one of the premier doubles championships that Oriamendi2010 sponsors. And two of those were the Semi-finals and Finals, (links to full match videos, finals begin at 3:45 on the video) both of which were televised on EITB. It was a remarkable streak, and it was broken in a remarkable match.

==============================

Letters refer to the Oriamendi2010 Groups the players, based on experience and talent, are assigned to. It is important to keep in mind that the groups are often mixed within teams and matches. We will come back to these groupings below.

Ansa II-Barrenetxea IV (B-A) 40 Uterga-Larranaga (A-B) 39

Selected linescore (winners always listed first)

2-2; 6-6; 17-17; 20-20; 26-26; 29-29; 37-34; 38-38; 38-39; 40-39

Scoring:

Ansa II +14 -4 (including 6 two wall winners) Barrenetxea IV +11 (incl. 5 service aces) -2

Uterga +20 -7 (incl 4 missed two wall winners) Larranaga +13 (including 6 service aces) -8

Match article (Oriamendi2010)

In one of the more exciting Star Matches in recent times, Uterga barely missed winning his 13th doubles match in a row, a string that began December 13, as he and Larranaga lost by the minimum to Ansa II-Barrentxea IV. 

In this match the score was equal 7 times before A-B finally took a 37-34 lead. But U-L struck back to lead 39-38 before A-B scored the last 2 points. The match article said that Uterga "risked more," and that risk led to 4 two wall errors. 

(Uterga's go to shot is the two wall shot, one which can either be smashed low against the side wall, off the front wall, landing inside the foul line by inches, or can be executed as a "touch" shot, high off the side and front wall, bouncing so high off the court that it cannot be returned before it hits the mesh that protects the fans from the pelota. Either way, it is a lethal shot, and Uterga is not afraid to use it at any time from anywhere in the front court. Now that the great Koteto Ezkurra has retired, Uterga has, in my opinion, the best two wall shot in Remonte.) 

The implication of the "risk" comment is that perhaps a little caution could have kept the streak in tact. I did not see the match, but I have seen the magic Uterga consistently performs with his two wall shots. His strategy didn't work out this time. Things have worked out very well for him over the last 4 months. 

==============================

The streak was part of a larger period of excellence for Uterga. Since the beginning of October he has played phenomenally well. Lets first look at the streak a little more closely, and then the larger context. 

Uterga won 4 of the matches in the streak as he and Azpiroz stormed to the ORONA Parejas championship. He partnered with Azpiroz 5 times during the streak, and with Larranaga once (both Group B players). He partnered with Group A players Barrenetxea IV 3 times, Ion twice, and Agirrezabala once. Here is how his group by group wins totaled:

A-A v A-A 4

A-A v A-B 2

A-B v A-A 2

A-B v A-B 3

A-B v B-B 1

In only 3 of the 12 matches was he part of an uneven pairing where his team had an advantage. In 2 of the matches he was part of an uneven pairing where his team was at a disadvantage. But the most amazing thing about this streak was its larger context. Between September 29, 2018 and February 9, 2019, in Galarreta doubles matches he won 19 of 24, including a 4 match winning streak in addition to the big streak. During that time, he  lost 2 consecutive doubles matches twice. Each of his doubles matches, of course was a 40 point match. 8 of the 12 matches were "Star Matches." Considering the grind that is Galarreta Remonte, such sustained excellence over that amount of time (not to mention coming back to win the ORONA tournament after 2 early losses (5-2 overall in the tournament), is a remarkable feat. But then, Uterga is a remarkable player.

Here is the sequence from September 29-February 9. Note that he did not play doubles matches from January 17 through January 26 but he did play 3 singles matches in the World singles tournament during that time. 

Key W-win; L-loss O-ORONA Tournament, U-against a team with Urriza

9/29/18 W; match article (+20 -5)
10/6 L (U); (Koteto Ezkurra's farewell match, no information on Uterga match)
10/11 L; match article
10/18 W; match article
10/20 W; match article
10/27 L; match article
11/1 W; match article (38-39--40-39)
11/8 W; match article (37-38--40-38) (+22 -6)
11/15 W (O) (U); match article (+27 -1)
11/22 W (O); match article (39-39--40-39) (Uterga 2 wall winner) (+19 -7)
11/29 L (O); match article (+11 -3) in 40-25 loss
12/6 L (O); match article
12/13 W (U); match article
12/15 W (O--Semi-final 1); match article (+22 -2) in 40-37 win
12/20 W (U); match article
12/22 W (O--Semi-final 2); match article (+15 -4) full match video
12/24 W (U) (5 matches in 12 days!); match article 40-22 
12/29 W (O--Final); match article (+21 -1) full match video
1/3/19 W; match article (37-38--40-38) (+18 -7)
1/10 W(U); match article
1/12 W; match article
1/31 W; match article (+23)
2/2 W;  match article (29-12; 32-32; 40-36)
2/9 W match article (+20 -2)

Source: Oriamendi2010 results database. (Buscar Resultados 2018, 2019).

And by the way, he is the Mayor of his hometown, Doneztebe when he isn't winning Remonte matches.

For more on the Tuesday and Thursday "Star Matches" and all other matches at Galarreta, see the Galarrreta "Star Match" recurring results page on the right sided of the blog.