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); Mutriku Open Independent Match
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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The week saw Inaki Goikoetxea follow his greatest performance (+19 -0) in the Gant d'Or Final (BLOG POST) at Biarritz in Iparralde (North Basque) with 2 losses in the Jai Alai World Tour: the Gernika Grand Slam Final and the Hondarribia Grand Slam Semi-Final. We have much information on the 1st and hardly any on the 2nd.
Imanol Lopez played on and on with "one hand tied behind his back" as his bicep injury continued to prevent him from using his forehand. He adjusted amazingly well, covering much ground left to right in order to be able to return outside throws with his backhand. His results were mixed. He was, amazingly, 2-2 in the four matches he played during the week (3 in Hegoalde (South Basque), 1 in Ipparalde). And of course, he won the big prize, the Gernika Grand Slam (see below). Since his injury occurred on August 4, he has missed only one match, the Semi-Final at Biarritz. With the help of a great physiotherapist, along with his bottomless well of determination, and the ability that long experience brings to be able to adjust on the fly, he pretty much amazed everyone...except Imanol Lopez.
By the 16th, we knew who the finalists at Hondarribia would be (see below), but shortly after, the final was postponed from August 23 to August 30 (Jai Alai World Tour announcement) due to a G7 meeting in the area. So there will be a bit of a lull in Hegoalde while St. Jean de Luz (Donibane Lohizune) gears up for its SLAM tournament that ends the Cesta Punta World Tour's summer season.
And a final word on two players who had a great week. Diego Beaskoetxea, a 22 year veteran of quinela and partido campaigns, an artist/craftsman who is one of the best of his generation, had one of, if not the best partido match of his career. No small match either, it was on the brightest and most pressure packed stage, in front of a full house (around 2,000) at the "Cathedral" of Zesta Punta in Gernika. He and Lopez put together a strategy that was designed to take the cesta out of Goikoetxea's hand. Having a strategy and executing it against the greatest player in the world (in my opinion) are two different things. With Lopez at a disadvantage, a lot of the "heavy lifting" fell upon Diego. Both of them executed the strategy to perfection, and it was fitting that Diego put the match and Grand Slam title away with a perfect cortada (hard, sidearm throw) past Goikoetxea, followed, a bit later, by an intercept of a Goikoetxea serve and perfect chic-chac (pelota hits the floor so close to the back wall that it bounces out too low to be returned), a "touch" throw that traveled around 70 yards (65 meters).
The other player who has probably surprised everyone except those who watch him day in and day out at Dania Jai Alai, is Erik Mendizabal. Erik is a consistent winner in the quinela arena, winning over 20% of his games, no small feat in the meat grinder of 35 (at the least) games a week, every week, from September to December, and from January to June. He has played in the Summer Partidos before, with middling results. This season he has come alive, winning at Markina with Irastorza and losing the final at Lekeitio with Ibon (Aldazabal) to (Jon) Zulaika-Lopez in a tie breaker. But he isn't finished yet. In the Hondarribia Semi-finals he and Ekhi beat Egiguren-Lopez in straight sets (see below). His summer will finish with another final.
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But how did that actually work in practice? I looked at the match a second time and only counted the times Goikoetxea and Lekerika caught and threw the pelota. Here is what I found:
Set 1
Goikoetxea: 39 (of which 30 were rebotes) (rebound shots off the back wall); He served 10 times, with 1 fault.
He intercepted 2 Diego serves, converting 1 and missing a two wall on the other. He also yielded a service interception that Diego converted with a chic-chac to win the set.
Lekerika 66
Set 2
Goikoetxea 24 (18 rebotes)
He intercepted 2 Diego serves, missing on one and converting on the other.
He served 7 times and was intercepted once. Diego converted that with a perfect chic-chac to finish the match
Lekerika 55
For the match: Goikoetxea 63 (48 rebotes); Lekerika 121
Obviously, the strategy worked, but to really understand how well it worked subtract the rebotes, which are inherently defensive throws (although Goikoetxea did score with them occasionally). That leaves 15 throws where he was facing the front wall (and quite a few of those were at or behind the 9 line). You cannot score if you don't have the pelota. This was the strategy. You can see it's effect in the body language of Goikoetxea as the 2nd set progresses. G-L finally cracked under the pressure, with 5 consecutive errors (4 physical and one from confusion that caused both of them to look to the other for a throw that neither of them got to).
G-L adjusted their strategy in the 2nd set so that Lekerika left more pelotas for Goikoetxea to rebote, and it worked early in the set. But Lopez, and especially Diego, were relentless. It was reminiscent of a similar strategy used in a different modality, Pala Larga, in the Mundo Parejas World Championship Final at Mungia last April. That match, like this one, featured a big front man, the best player of his generation, perhaps of all time, Pablo Hernan "Fusto", who was looking for his 5th consecutive MP championship, the most prestigious championship in Pala Larga. He too is a big hitter and a big scorer. His opponents decided to deny him the pelota, deny, deny, and deny some more. And in long court Pala Larga, the rebote by anyone is very rare. The opponents frustrated him until he and his partner began to make errors, and, along with their excellent play, did indeed deny him his championship, just as D-L denied G-L.
3rd Place Match
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NOTE: ON AUGUST 18 EITB ADDED FULL MATCH VIDEOS OF BOTH SEMI-FINALS (IN THE ORDER THEY ARE LISTED BELOW)
Scoring (EITB)
Erik +14 -3; Ekhi +5 -5
Egiguren +7 -7; Lopez +5 -4
Balls in Play: 469: Erik 134; Ekhi 105; Egiguren 96; Lopez 134
Time of the match: 76:04
Condensed linescore for tie breaker (match winners always listed 1st)
0-2; 1-2; 1-4; 5-4
Scoring (EITB)
Olha +18 -5; Etcheto +1 -0
Goikoetxea +23 -6; Ibon +5 -8
Balls in Play: 440: Olha 115; Etcheto 106; Goikoetxea 121; Ibon 98
Time of the Match: 75:17
4 consecutive Olha winners (dejada, two wall, and 2 left wall shots) bring O-E from the brink of defeat to victory.