Rajsich & Keller win singles at 2018 Pan American Championships

Rhonda Rajsich of the USA successfully defended her Women’s Singles title at the XXXI Pan American Championships in Temuco, Chile with one of the best performances of her life. Yet she still needed a tie-breaker to defeat Paola Longoria of Mexico, 15-3, 14-15, 11-7. Carlos Keller of Bolivia won the Men’s Singles title by defeating David Horn of the USA, 15-12, 5-15, 11-7. He’s just the 2nd Bolivian to win Men’s Singles at the Pan American Championships.

Rajsich’s win is her 4th Pan Am Championship Women’s Singles title with the others coming in 2007, 2011 and last year. Her 4 Women’s Singles titles is tied for second most at the Pan Am Championships with Michelle Gould and Cheryl Gudinas. Longoria has the most with seven.

Rajsich was so good in game one, where she was up 14-1 and won 15-3, that you wondered whether she could keep up that level of play. Because you knew that in game two Longoria was going to do what good players: come out harder. And that she did.

But Rajsich did lead early in game two, 3-0, and then Longoria responded to lead 7-4. However, Rajsich wasn’t letting up either, and she caught up and went ahead 12-10. Longoria got the serve back with a flat forehand pinch shot, and ran three points on as many rallies to lead 13-12.

Rajsich took the serve back with a backhand winner and then called a timeout. But coming out of the timeout, Longoria won the rally with backhand of her own. She then forced Rajsich into a skip, so got her first game point, 14-12. However, Longoria was called for an avoidable hinder on the next rally. She appealed, but the line judges upheld the referee’s call.

Rajsich scored two points with winning shots - a backhand cross court followed by a forehand wide angle pass - to tie the game and serve for the match at 14-14. She drove serve to the left side - a serve she used a lot in the match - and it led to a set up off the backwall. With the match on her racquet, Rajsich skipped a forehand shot by sliding the ball into the front wall, suggesting that even champions can get nervous.

With the serve back, Longoria won the next rally - her second game point - with a forehand cross court from left to right. Curiously in the match, she used that technique - hitting her forehand when on left side - a lot. It was almost as if Longoria didn’t trust her backhand, even though she did make some good backhand shots.

In the tie-breaker, Rajsich again was dominant, as Longoria didn’t get a point until the 20th rally, which made the score 7-1 in Rajsich’s favor. Rajsich immediately got the serve back with a backhand shot hop pinch shot. She continued to score points, and Rajsich got her second match point at 10-1.

Longoria prevented the game - and match - from ending there with a backhand cross court shot that cracked out, forcing Rajsich to skip a forehand shot. From there Longoria put a few points on the board, and when the score was 10-4, Rajsich got the serve back, and called a timeout.

But again she couldn’t get the last point, as Longoria hit a winner off Rajsich’s Z serve. Longoria kept scoring, putting three more points on the scoreboard that made it 10-7. Rajsich got the serve back again, and again called a timeout.

Yet Rajsich couldn’t finish it off again, as Longoria hit a backhand cross court winner. But Rajisch got the serve right back with a forehand return off Longoria’s lob serve on the right side, which was a serve she used for much of the match.

On her sixth match point, Rajsich was finally able to end it, as she hit a pinch shot to the front left corner. Longoria appealed for a hinder on the play, but line judges upheld the referee’s call of no hinder.

Men's Final

The men’s final was not as clean as the women’s, in that neither player was dominant in the match, although Horn won game two comfortably. Keller’s play followed the same pattern as in his semi-final: win game one, lose game two, win the tie-breaker.

They were close early in game one, but Horn pulled ahead to lead 10-6 and 12-8, at which point Keller called a timeout. He got the serve back when play resumed, and scored four points on consecutive rallies to tie the game 12-12.

They exchanged sideouts, then Keller scored again, 13-12. Horn called a timeout. Another exchange of sideouts, and a Keller point, 14-12. Horn calls timeout. A pair of hinders, and another exchange of sideouts. Then Keller ends it with a service winner: a drive serve to the right side that Horn can only get his racquet on.

Horn’s game two win set up the breaker, which developed slowly. How slowly? 22 rallies produced only 6 points. Unfortunately for Horn, five of those points were for Keller, who led 5-1. Eleven rallies later, and Horn tied the game, 5-5.

Horn broke that tie with a pinch shot winner to make it 6-5. But he couldn’t build on it, and soon Keller tied it at 6-6 with a forehand pinch shot of his own. He got four unanswered points to reach match point at 10-6, and reach is appropriate here, as Keller’s 10th point was a result of him reaching out with his long body stepping forward to hit a backhand cross court. Horn called timeout.

To say this match wasn’t as clean as the women’s final is not to say there weren’t some great shots, and perhaps none was more impressive than what Horn did on the next rally. Facing match point, Horn hit the ball behind his back in the middle of the court for a roll out. He exclaimed “WOOOO!” afterwards, and it was a “WOOOO!” kind of shot.

Horn scored a point on the next rally to make it 10-7, and then they exchanged sideouts leading to Keller’s third match point. On that rally, Keller dove four - yes 4! - times, and on the third, which was a diving get, and Keller got out of the way of Horn’s shot - mostly, but Horn signalled for a hinder. Yet he still kept playing, and drove the ball to the right side. Keller dove to get it (that was his fourth dive), and slammed it back across court for the match winner.

Or so it seemed.

But Horn appealed that there should have been a hinder on the rally, and his request was upheld, so they played the point over. On that rally, both players stayed on their feet, and after Horn drove a ball wide from right to left, Keller was able to get to the ball, as it came back to the right side. From deep in the court, Keller hit a clear kill shot winner to become the 2018 Pan American Champion.

The only Bolivian - or South American - to win Men's Singles previously is Ricardo Monroy, who did it back in 2010.

XXXI Pan American Racquetball Championships
Temuco, Chile - March 24-31, 2018

Women's Singles - Final - Saturday

8) Rhonda Rajsich (USA) d. 10) Paola Longoria (Mexico), 15-3, 14-15, 11-7

Men's Singles - Final - Saturday

5) Carlos Keller (Bolivia) d. 2) David Horn (USA), 15-12, 5-15, 11-7

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