December 10 – Lucas Bergamini is shaking his head, his eyes are shining and that emotion is keeping on coming up through his throat, so powerful, and hard to send back down. He shakes his head because it takes a while to fully understand it: he just beat two big “ones” beloved by the crowd, Paquito and “El Gato” Tello, and now he got to the final.
it is time for the ritual dedications, the dearest loved ones: a thought for Victor Ruiz – “he is such a great teammate” – and the honors to the opponents. “They were very strong, it was a beautiful challenge, so tough on the mental level. That one was the key, more than the one on the court, and we had to catch it to unlock the match. The mental challenge decided the semifinal with two great opponents, ‘Paco’ and El Gato”. Then, a kind thought and a dedication: “I want to dedicate this final to Neymar, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Casemiro, and all the Selecao boys. I do not have to explain the reason why, I hope to win tomorrow for them too”.
He stops for a moment, shakes his head again, and almost whispers, “It would be a dream, this is the tournament of a lifetime for me. It will be a great final in such a special place like Milan. If you just look around with all these people, you go crazy, it is really unbelievable. A historic final”.
Bergamini and Ruiz had prepared the challenge to Paquito on the right diagonal, trying to take any advantage of Navarro’s adaptation process in that position: “Of course, we tried to work on him on the court. My opinion is that we didn’t win the match with that strategy, anyway. I say it one more time: it was a challenge decided mentally against two great opponents”. People will miss tomorrow an absolute idol such as Paquito: “Yes I know, ‘Paco’ is beloved by the crowd around the world and especially here in Italy. Match after match, the warmth of the crowd for us has been growing, so I hope that tomorrow they will support us”. For sure, Lucas. For sure.