In the Pan American Games Men’s tennis finals, number-one seed Facundo Bagnis of Argentina cruised to a straight sets victory over Nicolas Barrientos at the Canadian Tennis Centre on Wednesday morning.
While the road was slippery leading up to the final, needing a third set against opponents in the prelims, quarters and semis — including a two hour-match on Tuesday against bronze medal winner Dennis Novikov — the final was anything but. In a matter of 49 minutes, the Argentinian won with a scoreline of 6-1, 6-2, with six aces and four breaks.
Bagnis had this to say about the victory:
“I am very happy. It was hard work. This is one of the highlights of my tennis career. He put all that he had and I always had to play above his level.”
While the winner was jubilant, his frustrated yet still positive opponent commented, “I was trying my best to find a way to the ball every time but I couldn’t always find a way to get the point. I fought and I fought. But, I had a good week. I am still happy with the result.”
Shortly after his singles win, Bagnis will partner with teammate Guido Adreozzi in the Men’s gold medal match against Chileans Nicolas Jarry and Hans Castillo (July 15). The confident 25-year-old had this to say about the doubles final: “I expect to being home two gold to Argentina.”
In the singles bronze medal game, Adreozzi couldn’t make it a double for Argentina, losing to 21-year-old Novikov of the US in two sets, 6-4, 6-4, that lasted a little more than an hour.
“I feel really good right now,” Novikov said after his bronze medal-winning performance. “I’m disappointed I didn’t win yesterday but I am glad I could get the bronze medal for the U.S. today. It’s my first time competing in an international competition for my country and I am very proud to represent the U.S.”
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