Hector Gatica beat Trinidad and Tobago’s Aaron Wilson (11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5), prior to overcoming Guyana’s Shemar Britton, the no.6 seed (11-5, 11-5, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8) and Venezuela’s Marco Navas, the no.7 seed (14-12, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 11-7) to reserve his Lima place.
“It’s hard to describe in words what it feels like. I am happy, satisfied to achieve one more objective, it gives me great pride. Also for Guatemala it is a triumph. I dedicate this win especially to my daughter and my wife. Marco is a great player whom I admire and respect a lot, whenever I play against him they are very close matches. Today I was very focused with my tactics, controlling my services and receiving service well.” Hector Gatica
Success for Hector Gatica, at the same time there was success for Cecilio Correa; the young man who is collecting racket coverings to send home to Venezuela, a country suffering a major economic crisis.
He beat Kevin Farley of Barbados, the no.11 seed (11-5, 11-4, 11-9, 11-5) and Bolivia’s Eduardo Lizarazu, the no.3 seed (11-9, 17-15, 13-11, 11-6) to book his place in the final where the good form continued. He accounted for the host nation’s Heber Moscoso, the no.10 seed, in a closely contested seven games encounter (9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8).
“This is indescribable, behind each athlete there are many stories, a lot of sacrifice and when we get this kind of achievement, how we feel it is difficult to describe. We all arrived with great expectation, I have been preparing for this for a long time, today things went well, I made some changes, small details that added to my confidence. I want to send a hug and a greeting to all the people in Venezuela, my beautiful country, to the children of Venezuela, a message of hope and continue dreaming.” Cecilio Correa
A further two places for the men’s singles event at Lima 2019 Pan American Games remain.
Information
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Prospectus
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Schedule of Play
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Entries (as on Thursday 23rd May)
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Seeding (First Knock-Out)
Results
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Men’s Singles – Draw One – Results (Friday 24th May)
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Women’s Singles – Draw One – Results (Friday 24th May)
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Men’s Singles – Draw Two – Results (Saturday 25th May)
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Women’s Singles – Draw Two – Results (Saturday 25th May)
Draws
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Men’s Singles – Draw Three (Saturday 25th May)
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Women’s Singles – Draw Three (Saturday 25th May)
Qualified Teams for Pan American Games
Host Nation
Peru
Peru
2018 Pan American Championships
Brazil, United States, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina and Cuba
Brazil, United States, Canada, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Argentina
2019 Caribbean Qualification
Puerto Rico
Dominican Republic
2019 Central America Qualification
Guatemala
Mexico
2019 North America Qualification
Canada
no nomination
2019 South America Qualification
Ecuador
Colombia
2019 World Ranking (May)
Dominican Republic
Chile, Mexico
Canada and the United States both qualified for the for the women’s team event as a result of finishing in the top six at the 2018 Pan American Championships. Therefore, there was no nomination via 2019 North America qualification; thus as the second high team on the May 2019 world rankings, Mexico gained the final place.