The sporting event hosted by Lima 2019 for more than two weeks still lingers in our memory and undoubtedly the ones that remember it more fondly are the athletes that qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after their victories at the Pan American Games.
The night ended at Lawn Tennis with a new medal for Peru, when the doubles team formed by Anastacia Iamachkine and a tireless Sergio Galdós —he had won bronze in men’s doubles one and a half hour before— defeated the athletes the team from Guatemala by 2 sets to 0.
The Peruvian national team took one hour and seven minutes to add a new bronze award for their country in the official medal table at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games.
Peruvians supremacy was evident since the start of the match as they showed a better mutual understanding against the team from Guatemala, formed by Andrea Weedon and Wilfredo González.
The stands were colored in white and red to support the Peruvian team and cheered for them during the whole match. They made waves and their chanting inspired the Peruvian team.
The first set ended 7-5 in 38 minutes and the second set ended 6-1 and lasted less than half and hour. Iamachkine and Galdós cross-court shots set the pace of this competition from the very and start and until the end.
With this result, Peru collects 16 medals at the end of the first week of competitions and still wants to win more in the next days.
One more medal. At the darkest moment of the tennis match, the lights came on and the audience in the grandstands cheered on the Peruvian team composed of Sergio Galdón and Juan Pablo Varillas. It encouraged them to turn the game around and beat Bolivia to reach the bronze medal at these Pan American Games.
The match started well for the Peruvian team, who was ahead 4-1. Then, all serves, volleys and spikes made the team finish the first set with 6-3. In spite of the intense cold, this result thrilled the audience.
In the second set, Boris Arias and Federico Zevallos from Bolivia changed their strategy and beat the Peruvian team 6-3 in 38 minutes.
This score led them to the tie-break to get the bronze. At the start of this final stage, the Bolivian duo was winning most of the set. However, Galdós and Varillas regained control and reached the final score of 12-10, which gave us one more medal at the Lima 2019 Games.
An unusually sunny afternoon in Lima came along with the best tennis in the Americas at the Pan American Games. As in its best afternoons, the main stadium of Lawn Tennis de la Exposición club showed an incredible atmosphere, pretty much like that of the Davis Cup. Sadly, this was not enough for Juan Pablo Varillas to qualify fwor the men's singles semifinal.
Varillas as defeated by Chilean Matías Barrios on the central court, whose grandstands shook every time the Peruvian tennis player hit the ball. The spectators would not stop cheering on the Peruvian during the nearly three hours this match lasted, especially in the penultimate set, in which he recovered from seven match points.
“Juan Pablo (Varillas) played at an incredible level as he has been for a while. I think that he'll reach the top of his game at any moment. He had the bonus of a very entertaining environment for us both, which lifted him up in the tensest moments. The court also helped him to move fast,” said the Chilean tennis player.
Chilean Barrios will face Argentinian Guido Andreozzi, while Brazilian Joao Menezes will face another Argentinian, Facundo Bagnis. These matches will be held tomorrow morning.
In the evening, the Peruvian representatives for men’s doubles did not qualify for the medal-defining matches, as they were defeated by Argentinians Andreozzi and Bagnis. Sergio Galdós and Juan Pablo Varillas will still play for the bronze medal tomorrow at 15:30, facing off Bolivians BorisArias and Federico Zeballos.
In the last match, the Peruvian pair Anastasia Iamachkine and Galdós will face off the Bolivian pair Noelia and Federico Zeballos, to qualify for the final and thus fight for the gold medal.
Since their competitions started, four days ago, tennis players have experienced a smooth daily transfer from the Pan American Village, in Villa El Salvador, to Lawn Tennis Club. In fact, athletes reported being very satisfied with the amenities provided by the Lima 2019 Organizing Committee.
Juan Pablo Varillas, a top Peruvian tennis player (semifinalist in men’s doubles with Sergio Galdós and quarterfinalist in singles), says he has received good commentaries from fellow athletes about the development of the Pan American Games so far.
“I feel really comfortable with all the facilities provided by the organizing committee: the service at the Village, the quality of food and the foresight to get to competitions on time. We are proving, as a country, that we are capable of organizing world-class events, setting a precedent on how to successfully host the Pan American Games,” said Varillas.
Similarly, Ecuadorian Robert Quiroz noted: “We have been pleasantly treated by Peruvians from the moment we arrived at the Village. Service is top-class and we have experienced no delays in transportation. We are truly enjoying our participation in these Games,” said the Guadalajara 2011 silver medalist.
On the other hand, Noelia Zeballos from Bolivia, semifinalist in mixed doubles event at Lima 2019 declares to be enjoying the Games. “I have arrived on time to all my competitions”, stated the Bolivian athlete.
Tennis competitions will be held at the stadium of the Lawn Tennis Club until August 4. Athletes will compete in singles and doubles (men’s and women’s), as well as in mixed doubles. A total of 80 tennis players from 16 countries, both men and women, will participate in the Games, competing in knockout round stages. Click here to learn more about each match results and last dates.
There will be six stages in men’s singles, starting with a round of 64, and five stages in both women’s singles and men's doubles, starting with a round of 32. Meanwhile, athletes will start competing in a round of 16 in women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
The Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposición was the stage of the tennis competitions. Juan Pablo Varillas won two times in a row and now he will compete for the gold. He booked a place in the singles quarterfinals and then got into the men’s doubles semifinals, along with Sergio Galdós.
Fans cheered on them from the grandstands of the main stadium at all times. This helped Varillas and Galdós beat their Brazilian opponents after a bad start. Tomorrow, they will face Facundo Banis and Guido Andreozzi from Argentina. Additionally, Varillas will compete against Marcelo Barrios from Chile in singles.
“Fans were really excited for the matches. They cheered on us in every set and encouraged us when we nearly fell. That helped us bounce back in the second doubles set. We were playing as locals. I’m really happy with these two victories, and I trust Sergio (Galdós) and I can win the next match. We’ll play with no expectations. We’ll see how the game goes on the field,” he added.
Meanwhile, the doubles player Sergio Galdós said they work well together. “All doubles pairs have worked hard to make it to this stage. We’re playing against the best doubles players, so we’ll give our best to get a medal for our sport,” he said.
Moreover, the Peruvian coach Américo “Tupi” Venero mentioned he wanted to share with them the experience of playing with a positive environment. “None of these kids has ever played at a packed stadium and tomorrow we’ll have more spectators at the Lawn Tennis. It’s important that they are not only physically but also mentally strong. We’re leveling up. So, the people’s support makes me feel relieved.
Tennis competitions will be held at the stadium of the Lawn Tennis Club, until August 4. This game is played in singles and doubles, in men’s and women’s category, and in mixed doubles. A total of 80 tennis players, both male and female, from 16 countries will participate in the Games, competing in a knock-out format.
There will be six stages in men’s singles, starting with a round of 64, and five stages in both women’s singles and men's doubles, starting with a round of 32. Meanwhile, athletes will start competing in a round of 16 in women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
Yesterday, Nicolás Álvarez won on the first day of the men’s competition at Lawn Tennis de la Exposición Club. And this morning, a significant number of spectators witnessed the victory of tennis player Dominique Schaefer, the best-ranked Peruvian athlete in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
The constant support of the crowd at the main stadium of the Lawn Tennis Club gave her encouragement to advance to the next round. Although the match became complicated for her at the end of each set, she managed to win both sets 7-5 against Grenadine Akilah James.
“It was a tough game because I wasn't so confident at times. I was winning the entire game, but when I failed some hits, she managed to raise her level. Anyway, my debut helped me relax. I will face the next matches more calmly. Today, the crowd encouragement filled me with lots of energy. This atmosphere makes me very excited to play for my country,” stated Dominique.
The pair made up of Schaefer and Dana Guzmán will compete in women’s doubles in the afternoon. Additionally, Juan Pablo Varillas will make his debut in men’s competitions against Bolivian Boris Arias. The winners in singles and doubles (men’s and women’s), as well as in mixed doubles, will earn direct qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Tennis competitions will be held at the stadium of the Lawn Tennis Club, from July 29 to August 4. Athletes will compete in singles and doubles (men’s and women’s), as well as in mixed doubles. A total of 80 tennis player from 16 countries, both male and female, will participate in the Games, competing in knockout round stages.
There will be six stages in men’s singles, starting with a round of 64, and five stages in both women’s singles and men's doubles, starting with a round of 32. Meanwhile, athletes will start competing in a round of 16 in women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
The Lima 2019 Pan American Games is a continental event that will gather 6680 athletes from 41 countries and started on July 26 at the National Stadium. There will be 17 days of competitions, which will take place in 14 districts of Lima and Callao. Some of the main venues will be the VIDENA, Villa María del Triunfo Sports Center, Callao Regional Sports Village, Villa El Salvador Sports Center, Punta Rocas, among others.
Tennis, one of the most anticipated sports in the continent, starts on Monday, July 29, with the best representatives of the Americas, whose greatest reward, in addition to the glory of being champions, is their qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The international competition will take place at the Lawn Tennis de la Exposición Club courts, in Jesús María, where the matches will begin at 10:00 so that families can watch and enjoy this sport. One of Peru’s representatives, Nicolás Álvarez, will debut against Cuban Yoan Andrés Pérez at this time.
The following players will compete at the same time: Rowland Philips from Jamaica and Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina, Alberto Alvarado from El Salvador and Stefan González from Guatemala, Kenny Turcios from Honduras and Federico Zeballos from Bolivia, and Jody Maginley from Antillas and Kyle Johnson from El Salvador.
The second round of matches will start immediately, before noon. At that time, Nicolás Mejías from Colombia and Víctor Estrella from the Dominican Republic, Manuel Sánchez from Mexico and Wilfredo González from Guatemala, and Sean Williams from Barbados and Franco Roncadelli from Uruguay will also compete. The following matches will also take place: Sam Riffice from the US against Francisco Llanes from Uruguay, Osmel Rivera from Cuba against Alejandro Obando from Honduras, and Haydn Lewis from Barbados against Juan Alejandro Hernández from Mexico.
Once these matches end, another series of matches will begin, such as Sergio Galdós from Peru against Justin Roberts from Bahamas. The women’s competitions will also begin, such as the match between Canadian Jada Bui and Colombian María Camila Osorio, seeded eighth in the tournament.
Additionally, Bolivian Noelia Zeballos will also compete against Canadian Alexandra Vagramov, As well as Meli Reasco from Ecuador against Guatemalan Andrea Weedonm, Marcela Zacarías from México against Argentinian Catalina Pella, and Montserrat González from Paraguaya against Caroline Delohide from the US, seeded fourth in the tournament.
PERUVIAN DEBUT IN WOMEN’S TENNIS
In the afternoon, the last five matches of the opening day of the tennis competition will take place, where Peruvian Dana Guzmán will make her debut against Mexican Renata Zarazúa, seeded sixth. Moreover, Chilean Fernanda Brito will compete against Argentinian Nadia Podoroska, seeded seventh.
Simultaneously, Chilean Daniela Seguel, seeded fifth, competes against Guatemalan Melissa Morales, and Ecuadorian Charlotte Paredes faces Argentinian Victoria Bosio. In the same time slot, the first men’s doubles match will take place between pairs Alberto Alvarado and Luis Mireles from El Salvador and Kevin King and Michael Redicki from the United States.
There are still tickets available for the competitions. To buy tickets please go to the Pan American and Parapan American Games website: lima2019.pe. You can also buy tickets on the Teleticket website: https://teleticket.com.pe/lima2019.
You can also buy your tickets at the booth set up at the Jockey Plaza shopping center, in Santiago de Surco. This new point of sale is an addition to the 10 points of sales already operating at Metro and Wong in the districts of Chorrillos, Independencia, La Molina, Lima, Miraflores, San Borja, San Isidro, San Juan de Miraflores, San Miguel and Surco.