“Una mas”. Fernando Belasteguin’s career is not over yet. There is at least one more match before saying goodbye. That one, paired with Tino Libaak against the Portuguese brothers Nuno and Miguel Deus, could have been the last, and for that, all the padel champions had taken their seats in the first rows of the Allianz Cloud stands: from Arturo Coello to Agustin Tapia, from Fede Chingotto to Juan Tello and Martin Di Nenno, the last four Argentinians who grew up with the myth of Bela. But after his 6-4 6-4 win over the Deus brothers in one hour and 15 minutes, coming back from a break down in the second set (he was 4-2 down), Bela will be back on court again tomorrow, again on the centre court, in the second match of the evening session starting at 6 p.m., against Javi Garrido and Lucas Bergamini, the number 7 seed.
Javi and Lucas will start ahead, says the entry list of the Milano Premier Padel P1, but Belasteguin – followed by his whole family – wants to enjoy the atmosphere until the last 15. “I’m very happy and very calm – his words –. It has been a very difficult year, really difficult. Throughout my career I have tried to train to improve, but this last year and a half has been a training to endure. It has been really complicated, a very difficult feeling. I went through everything this year, but I made it to the end. It was what I wanted, and now I’m really enjoying it. Tino Libaak has given me an incredible two and a half months, not only on the court but also off it. Whatever happens, if today had been my last game, I would have felt at peace. I gave everything I could and, if I had lost today, I would have been able to look my family in the eye and tell them: ‘I did everything I could’”. The fans in Milano will still be here tomorrow, all for Bela.