by Ian Marshall, Editor
Notably, in the Men’s Team event, Humberto Manhani was not selected for the initial contest against the United States, a fixture in which Brazil experienced a three-one defeat; in the remaining engagements he was preferred to Vitor Ishiy, he partnered Thiago Monteiro in the doubles and helped provide his team with the perfect start.
Following the change to the selection by national coach, Lincon Yasuda, Brazil secured three-nil victories in every contest! However, the effect was that Humberto Manhani never competed in a singles match, he only played doubles.
Now, in the Men’s Singles event, he proved he is no mean performer when alone! In the opening round, he beat Nikhil Kumar of the United States, the no.25 seed (12-10, 8-11, 11-13, 11-2, 11-9, 11-4), before causing an even bigger upset by overcoming Cuba’s Andy Pereira, the no.13 seed (11-4, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 13-11).
Success for Humberto Manhani; to see him progress does the heart good, he is totally reliable, ready to play when the nation calls but of course overshadowed by the likes of Hugo Calderano, Gustavo Tsuboi and the ever improving Eric Jouti, a player who, likewise in Santiago, reserved his third round place. The no.3 seed, a direct entry to the second round, he caused Cuba more pain, he beat Livan Martinez, the no.27 seed (11-6, 11-6, 11-13, 11-4, 11-9).
Progress in style for Eric Jouti; as matters progressed in the lower half of the Men’s Singles draw, it was also second round success for the other leading names.
Paraguay’s Marcelo Aguirre, the no.2 seed, beat Canada’s Marko Medjugorac (14-12, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8); Argentina’s Horacio Cifuentes, the no.5 seed, accounted for Guatemala’s Hector Gatica, the no.26 seed (11-6, 11-7, 13-11, 11-4). Similarly, the host nation’s Gustavo Gomez, the 7 seed, ended the hopes of the Dominican Republic’s Isaac Vila, the no.30 seed (11-8, 11-8, 11-6, 12-10).
A third round place for Gustavo Gomez, likewise in the lower half of the draw, colleague Juan Lamadrid, the no.12 seed, progressed, as in the top half did Felipe Olivares, the no.11 seed. In the second round, Juan Lamadrid also caused the Dominican Republic heartache by beating Samuel Galvez, the no.23 seed (11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 8-11, 14-12, 11-8); Felipe Olivares ended the hopes of Canada’s Jeremy Hazin (7-11, 5-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6).
The third round and quarter-finals of the Men’s Singles event will be staged on Saturday 24th November.
