2018 Mexican National Team Selection Event - Semi-finals

Daniel De La Rosa ended the fairy tale run of Alan Natera through the Men’s Singles draw at the 2018 Mexican National Team Selection Event in Chihuahua on Saturday, De La Rosa beat Natera, who was seeded 32nd, 15-8, 15-6, in the semi-finals. De La Rosa will play Rodrigo Montoya in the final, as Montoya defeated Andree Parrilla, 15-6, 15-14, in the other semi.

De La Rosa and Montoya will faceoff in the Men’s Doubles final also, as Montoya and Javier Mar beat Eduardo Garay and Rodrigo Garay, 15-7, 15-9, in one semi-final, while De La Rosa and Alvaro Beltran needed a tie-breaker to defeat Edson Martinez and Andree Parrilla, 13-15, 15-8, 11-3, in the other.

On the women’s side, Paola Longoria and Samantha Salas, the #1 and #2 seeds, respectively, will meet on Sunday, but not in the final, as the winner will need to play at least one more match, because the format is a double knockout.

On Saturday in the semi-finals (kind of), Longoria beat Alexandra Herrera, 15-8, 15-4, and Salas defeated Nancy Enriquez, 15-4, 15-8. But Herrera and Enriquez are in the final of the B side, so one of them will have a chance to play the winner of Longoria and Salas. It seems that if Longoria or Salas loses that match to Herrera or Enriquez, then a second match will need to be played before deciding a final winner.

This is the first time we have seen a draw like this, and it’s a little odd. We suppose the idea is to reduce the chance factor in who wins the event. Someone needs to be beaten twice before truly being eliminated.

Play concludes Sunday in Chihuahua. You can see the action via the FRM Facebook page.

Campeonato Nacional Selectivo FMR
Chihuahua, Mexico - February 21-25, 2018

Women's Open

Semi-finals - Saturday

1) Paola Longoria d. 5) Alexandra Herrera, 15-8, 15-4
2) Samantha Salas Solis d. 6) Nancy Enriquez, 15-4, 15-8

Final - Sunday

1) Paola Longoria v. 2) Samantha Salas Solis - 11:30 AM

Men's Open Singles

Semi-finals - Saturday

5) Daniel De La Rosa d. 32) Alan Natera, 15-8, 15-6
7) Rodrigo Montoya d. 3) Andree Parrilla, 15-6, 15-14

Final - Sunday

5) Daniel De La Rosa v. 7) Rodrigo Montoya - 12:20 PM

Men's Open Doubles

Semi-finals - Saturday

8) Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya d. 5) Eduardo Garay & Rodrigo Garay, 15-7, 15-9
6) Alvaro Beltran & Daniel De La Rosa d. 7) Edson Martinez & Andree Parrilla, 13-15, 15-8, 11-3

Final - Sunday

6) Alvaro Beltran & Daniel De La Rosa v. 8) Javier Mar & Rodrigo Montoya - 1:10 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….