by Ian Marshall
In the men’s event, facing the United States, the no.2 seeds, Nicolas Burgos guided Chile, the no.7 seeds, to a 3-1 win.
Hard fought contests, he beat Jayden Zhou (11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8) and Sid Naresh (3-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7), sandwiched in between partnering Andres Martinez to doubles success (11-9, 12-10, 6-11, 11-6).
The Chileans now meet the no.9 seeds, the Dominican Republic partnership of Abit Tejada and Pedro Cabrera; the duo having experienced a 3-0 defeat in their opening contest when facing the Sid Naresh and Jayden Zhou.
More pain
Similarly, just as Nicolas Burgos had inflicted pain on the United States, so did Daniela Fonseca.
A 3-1 victory margin for Cuba, the no.7 seeds, against the top seeds, was the order of the day.
She beat both Lin Yishiuan (11-9, 11-5, 11-3) and Sarah Jalli (8-11, 11-4, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7), in addition to partnering Karia Perez to doubles success (10-12, 6-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9).
Cuba duly concluded the group in first position ahead of the United States. Colombia, the no.9 seeds, represented by Manuela Echeverry and Juliana Lozada finished in third place.
Mexicans in form
Impressive performances, in the women’s team event it was the same from Mexico, the no.6 seeds, Clio Barcenas and Arantxa Cossio posted a 3-0 win against Paraguay’s Cielo Mutti and Leyla Gomez, prior to causing an upset of note by recording the same margin of victory when facing Chile’s Macarena Montecino and Valentina Rios.
First position for the Mexicans, for Chile it was runners up spot, having recorded a 3-0 win in the opening group contest when opposing Cielo Mutti and Leyla Gomez.
Leading outfits
Problems for leading pairs, in the remaining group women’s team contests, it was top spot for the leading outfits.
Puerto Rico’s Brianna Burgos and Fabiola Diaz, the no.2 seeds, finished ahead of the Dominican’s Esmerlyn Castro and Shary Muñoz.
Likewise, Brazil’s Giulia Takahashi and Laura Watanabe, the no.3 seeds, secured first place; next in line being El Salvador’s Cristina Machado and Gabriela Suarez, the no.12 seeds.
Opened door
Meanwhile, in the men’s team event, the absence of Argentina, the no.3 seeds, paved the way for Cuba’s Eday Gomez and René Mendez, the no.6 seeds, to gain quarter-final places alongside Costa Rica’s Daniel Araya and Alfredo Sanchez, the no.11 seeds. The outfits now meet to determine first place.
Otherwise, in the men’s team event, the most prominent pairs secured first place in some style.
Brazil’s Diogo Silva and Rafael Turrini, the top seeds, booked their last eight place, as did Puerto Rico’s Angel Naranjo and Derek Valentin, the no.4 seeds.
Deciding contests
Mexico’s Dario Arce and Juan Jesus Gomez, the no.8 seeds, meet Guatemala’s Sergio Carrillo and Kevin Ruano, the no.10 seeds, the determine who progresses alongside the Brazilians.
Likewise, Paraguay’s Elias Apud and Sebastian Lopez, the no.5 seeds, oppose Colombia’s Camilo Gonzalez and Santiago Montes, the no.12 seeds, to decide who finishes next in line to the Puerto Ricans.
The concluding rounds in the men’s team event will be played on Saturday 4th December followed by the quarter and semi-finals of both men’s team and women’s team competitions.
