Wednesday, November 20, 2024, 9:20 p.m.
Since he underwent hip surgery, his level has progressively improved until reaching the peak shock of Four and a Half, a modality that choked him at the beginning of his career. “Now I serve better, I do damage and with that you win a lot,” he highlights.
– Second final of 2024 after the injury. What do you give more value to?
– Because after the injury I have had the ability to play at a good level again. That was the objective and I give it a lot of importance because it is more complicated. They did a very good job on my hip because I usually have discomfort but it can’t be compared to what I had before.
– Many will think that after beating Altuna III this is already done.
– No. I face an opponent who beat me in the league and who has been in the final for two years in a row. His game adapts perfectly to this modality and nothing is done. I have a very hard bone ahead of me.
– Beating Amezketa was not just any victory.
– I ended up very happy with the game I played and how I did it. Not by beating Altuna III. It is true that we all want to surpass him because statistically he is undoubtedly the best, and doing so in a modality that he is very good at also gives me confidence.
– This year at the beginning of the championship he commented that this specialty was a bit overwhelming for him.
– I like to hit the ball and I feel more comfortable in one-on-one situations. At Cuatro y Medio in amateurs I played less and I have always been worse at it, but you have to do everything. Now I serve better, I do damage, and with that you win a lot.
– In five games he has only conceded nine goals with the initial play.
– You have to be focused on the moment and try to score against the big servers because they hurt you a lot. I feel comfortable subtracting, although I don’t work on it specifically. You have to position your body well and if you succeed, the ball comes out practically without giving it speed.
– After the hip operation is he the same Laso?
– Every moment of life is different. Nobody is the same. I have needed a lot of recovery work. It has been a long process. At this moment I look good and we have to take advantage of it. When I have had difficult times in my life I have tried to move forward. There is no other. I am clear that I want to be a pelota player and be here for many years, and I have to do it no matter what.
Learn from mistakes
– At 27 years old, have you already reached maturity?
– Every year, more than you mature, you learn from mistakes to try to improve them.
– Peio Etxeberria has only played in one individual final and, as he admitted, the stage surpassed him. Do you think you have an advantage in that?
– Experience is always a degree. Then he played the Couples game and did it very bravely. I also had a lot and look how the hand-to-hand one turned out. Each ending is different and you don’t know how you are going to find yourself.
– Was it difficult for you to digest that 22-5 in the Manomanista final?
– I went on vacation and you evade a little, but I worked on it with the psychologist. It was a blow and had to be assimilated. Digest it and do therapy because in the end you have it inside and it bothers you. You have lost, but your environment is also there.
– Do you work more and more on the details of a final?
– Once you arrive you have to smooth out everything you do a little, but you also don’t have to get out of the routine of the championship.
– Is your rival the one that has evolved the most in the last two years?
– He has taken a big leap. It’s much more regular. And physically one of those who is best prepared.
– What is your playing style like?
– He is very aggressive. Go in with a volley… It’s like all the balls are coming at you and you have to try to avoid it. His postures are quite natural for the bounded. And that is physically difficult.
– Does your ritual from the moment you score until you serve make you nervous?
– No. Everyone has their customs. I do other things. He seems to be doing well and I totally respect that.
– Do you think they are playing with a lot of material?
– They are the balls we have always played with, I don’t see anything excessive either. The fans want live games and we increasingly have to be better prepared.
