Dubai: When the players walked in at the start of the inaugural World Padel League final, the background music that played was the Mission Impossible theme, which signified the contest expected between Jaguars and Panthers at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on Sunday.
It was a Mission Impossible for Jaguars at the start on Saturday, when they turned the tables on Panthers and then continued to be on a mission right from the start in the final. Sanyo Gutierrez and Carolina Navarro gave Jaguars the winning start when they eased to a 6-3 win over Panthers’ Alex Ruiz and Bea Gonzalez in the opening set.
However, UAE teenager Abdullah Abdullah played a big role in Jaguars cementing their position in the final. The 16-year-old Abdullah matched Franco Stupacuzk in aggression to edge out fellow Emirati Fares Aljanahi and Alex Ruiz of Panthers.
Amazing talent
“Hopefully, we have more Abdullahs,” said world No 6 Stupacuzk about his partner immediately after the win. “He is an amazing player. I am really happy with the standards of the UAE players in the World Padel League and it is a proof on the growth of padel around the world.”
It was a team combination where Stupacuzk spoke in Spanish, a language Abdullah is not familiar with, but they managed to converse through the body language and produced a synchronised effort to Jaguar’s cause.
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Talking about his dream run, Abdullah was ecstatic after winning the world title. “It’s an amazing feeling playing against and with these stars. I had so much fun. Every match was an important one, and it was a pleasure playing with Stupa. We did a great job,” Abdullah told Gulf News.
Deciding set
However, the joy was short-lived after Panthers’ Zazu Osaro and Lucia Sainz shocked the world No 3-ranked Gemma Triay and Alejandra Salazar 6-3 in the third set to take the final to the deciding set. But Sanyo and Momo Gonzalez staved off a stiff challenge from Javi Garrido and fourth-ranked Arturo Coello 6-4 to signal wild celebrations from the Jaguars teammates. After 28 sets, Jaguars were strong enough to claw their way past Panthers, Cheetahs and Tigers.
Salazar, who along with Triay was the former world No 1 pairing, said her loss is nothing to do with the elbow injury that she is nursing.
Win some, lose some
“My injury is fine, loss had nothing to do with the injury,” the 37-year-old said. “I felt sad because we could not win the set. I played well during the earlier matches and in these team events you win some and lose some. Overall, it was a great tournament for the team,” said the 52-time winner. Salazar and Triay began their World Padel League campaign with a shock win over the world No 1 duo Paula Josemaria and Ariana Sanchez.
Salazar felt one or two events like these will help padel grow in different parts of the world and a welcome change to the regular events. The Spaniard also was surprised with the standards of the sport in UAE.
“We were surprised with the level of Abdullah’s game, considering his age. He played a big role in our triumph and as Stupa mentioned earlier, if we have more Abdullahs it will improve the level of the game in the UAE, which is bound to see a phenomenal growth in the country,” Salazar added.
Proud of my team
Triay, talking about the triumph, said: “We played like a real team. We knew that it would be a difficult battle in the final, but we were prepared and were focused to win the title. We are so happy to be in Dubai and I want to thank the owners and the organisers for the opportunity. We hope to return next year.”
Keeping it simple has been Jaguars’ mantra and coach Neki Berwig felt the process helped them win the inaugural title. “Very proud of the team. They really fought hard. Every player responded well. We wanted to keep it simple and go through our tactics and it worked,” Berwig added.
After mission accomplished for Jaguars, Salazar is looking forward to the title defence next year. “Hopefully, we will win the title next year,” Salazar concluded.
