by Ian Marshall, Editor
Led by the ever reliable duo of Gaston Alto and Pablo Tabachnik, with Martin Bentancor and Nicolas Galvano in support, Argentina, the no.3 seeds, secured first place. They ended the day ahead of the no.7 seeds, the Ecuadorian trio of Alberto Miño, Emiliano Riofrio and Rodrigo Tapia, in group that provided shock after shock.
Both outfits recorded 3-0 wins against the top seeded Brazilian outfit comprising Israel Barrato, Diogo Silva and Lucas Paiva; it was a day the threesome will not wish to remember, they finished in fourth place in their group without a win to their name. In addition they suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Venezuela’s Cecilio Correa, Jan Medina and Jonathan Pino, the no.6 seeds.
Third place was to be the lot of Venezuela, the same players in action, a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Ecuador sealed their fate; earlier with Martin Bentancor resigned to the bench, Argentina had recorded a 3-1 win against Ecuador.
Rather differently in the counterpart group, there was no stopping Chile, the no.2 seeds, who selected from Felipe Olivares, Manuel Moya, Nicolas Burgos and Andres Martinez. They secured first place in the group without surrendering a single individual match.
The surprise was caused by the no.5 seeds, Peru’s Arevalo Blas, Johan Chavez and Rodrigo Hidalgo. Crucially they recorded a 3-0 win in opposition to the no.4 seeds, Paraguay’s David Leon, Benicio Moreno and Santiago Osario to secure runners up spot.
Bolivia, the no.8 seeds, who fielded Eduardo Lizarazu, Franco Gareca and Diego Avila ended matters in fourth position.
At the semi-final stage Argentina meets Peru, Chile faces Ecuador; play in the men’s team event concludes on Thursday 4th April.
South American Championships – Schedule
South American Championships: Schedule of Play (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships – Seeding
South American Championships: Men’s Team & Women’s Team – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Men’s Singles – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Women’s Singles – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Men’s Doubles – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Women’s Doubles – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Mixed Doubles – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Under 21 Men’s Singles – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Under 21 Women’s Singles – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships – Draws
South American Championships: Men’s Team – Stage One (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Women’s Team – Stage One (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Men’s Singles – Stage One (Friday 5th April)
South American Championships: Women’s Singles – Stage One (Friday 5th April)
South American Championships: Men’s Doubles – Main Draw (Saturday 6th April)
South American Championships: Women’s Doubles – Main Draw (Saturday 6th April)
South American Championships: Mixed Doubles – Main Draw (Saturday 6th April)
South American Championships: Under 21 Men’s Singles – Stage One (Friday 5th April)
South American Championships: Under 21 Men’s Singles – Main Draw (Friday 5th April)
South American Championships: Under 21 Women’s Singles – Stage One (Friday 5th April)
South American Championships: Under 21 Women’s Singles – Main Draw (Friday 5th April)
South American Championships – Results
South American Championships: Men’s Team – Stage One – Results (Wednesday 4th April)
South American Championships: Women’s Team – Stage One – Results (Wednesday 4th April)