by Ian Marshall, Editor
Tension, an electric atmosphere, securing the close opening game was crucial in a contest where the level of play rose, from the third games onwards, Zhang Mo increased the tempo; able match the Canadian in the counter top spin department, Adriana Diaz remained focused, sinking to the ground in emotion on winning the final point.
It was at that stage pandemonium broke out, wearing all manners of fancy dress, stilt walkers entered the arena to entertain; it was party time in Guaynabo.
Significantly, Zhang Mo has played in every final since the tournament was first held in San Jose in 2017; on that occasion, like today, she was the runner up. Last year in Asuncion she was the winner.
Meanwhile, earlier in the evening in the contest for third place it had been success for Wu Yue of the United States; the no.3 seed, she accounted for Bruna Takahashi in six games (11-8, 6-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 12-10) and thus reversed the verdict of last November when she had been beaten by the Brazilian in the women’s team event at the 2018 Pan American Championships in Santiago.
“Bruna played with good quality; she put a lot of spin on the ball. After the third game I tried not to play so fast but to make sure I kept the ball on the table. In the sixth game I was running out of energy, I just kept encouraging myself. I think if I had lost that game I would have lost the match.” Wu Yue
Notably it was for both players one position lower than six months ago when the tournament had been held in Asuncion; on that occasion Wu Yue had been the victim of Zhang Mo in the final, Bruna Takahashi had accounted for Mexico’s Yadira Sliva to secure third place.
