There has been much talk at these Games about the duo formed by Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, until the term has worn out. NadalcarazHowever, the pair formed by Sara Sorribes and Cristina Bucsa, who actually came about by chance, have gone the furthest. It happened this spring in Madrid. A fluke. The former’s usual partner, the Czech Marie Bouzkova, dropped out at the last minute and the Castellón native proposed the alliance with the Cantabrian just five minutes before the deadline. From there, a trophy – the one won at the Caja Mágica – and now, considerable Olympic joy in Paris, where the victory achieved against Lyudmyla and Nadiya Kichenok (6-3, 2-6 and 12-10, in 1h 41m) guides the two Spaniards to the fight for the medals.
They will face the Russians – competing these days under a neutral flag, due to the invasion of Ukraine – Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider. But first, work and more work. Everything started well, but then it went wrong and the dilemma had to be resolved in the tie-break. At that point, the opponents, doubles players with a long career on the circuit, 32 years each, managed to acquire a 7-3 lead and were only three points away from victory, but neither Bucsa (60th in singles and 26 years old) nor Sorribes (71st and 27th) ever lost faith, and they rowed and rowed until they reached the shore. That conviction weighed more than the composure of the Ukrainian twins, who were finally overwhelmed with an explosive series. From there to the semifinals, then, the same level reached shortly before by Carlos Alcaraz.
The Spanish tennis players are two antagonists. The fire and expressiveness of Sorribes versus the coldness and silent performance of Bucsa. The latter was born in Moldova but settled since the age of three in Torrelavega, in the Cantabrian Sea; the other, in the Mediterranean. Two very different characters, but who have linked well since that fortuitous (and successful) meeting in Madrid and who now provide another bullet for the Spanish tennis representation. They were applauded from the side of the Simone Mathieu court —located about 200 meters from the central court, next to the Auteuil wintering grounds— by the coaches Silvia Soler and Paco Fogués, as well as the coach, Anabel Medina. And they hugged each other, exultant. Two workers In all rules.
Both had fallen on Monday. Sorribes against the recent Wimbledon champion, the Czech Barbora Krejcikova, and Bucsa against the Canadian Leylah Fernandez. The former was also unlucky in the mixed, together with Marcel Granollers, but that hunch in May continues to pay off and what began as a mere experiment today takes on Olympic brilliance. Overshadowed until now by the media dimension of the Nadal-Alcaraz tandem, they are vindicated and invite us to believe: eight matches, eight wins. It does not seem to be a coincidence. In any case, on the other side of the net will be Andreeva and Shnaider, who got rid of the favourites, the Czechs Krejcikova and Kateryna Siniakova by 6-1 and 7-5. Difficult, but not impossible.
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