Doubles racquetball is slightly different from singles, so two players who work well together can defeat a pair of seemingly stronger players. Moreover, mixed doubles can be different again in that there’s a cliché that a mixed doubles team is all about the gal on the team and how well she plays.
That’s all a prelude to saying that it’s impressive that 8th seeded team of Carla Muñoz and Alan Natera have made it into the Mixed Doubles final at the 2023 KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Championships in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Moreover, Muñoz and Natera are married, so they are also breaking the cliché that it’s not a good idea to play doubles with your spouse / relationship partner.
Muñoz and Natera will face 2nd seeds Paola Longoria and Conrrado Moscoso in the final, which could be their stiffest test yet as Longoria is the #2 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) and Moscoso is #1 on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT). But both Longoria and Moscoso will have played in their respective singles finals Sunday prior to the mixed doubles final, while Muñoz and Natera will be fresh for the mixed final.
In the semi-finals, Muñoz and Natera defeated 4th seeds Javier Mar and Montserrat Mejia, 15-8, 6-9, injury forfeit, while Longoria and Moscoso beat 3rd seeds Alexandra Herrera and Eduardo Portillo, 15-10, 15-4.
Mar picked up an injury to his left leg, perhaps his ankle, and while he tried to play through it, in the middle of the second game, Mar decided it was best to withdraw. It was a sad end to an interesting match.
Both teams were playing in the standard mixed doubles formation with the man on the left side. But Mar and Mejia are both usually right side players, when they play men’s and women’s doubles, respectively: Mar with Rodrigo Montoya and Mejia with left-hander Alexandra Herrera.
It seemed that Mar and Mejia should have tried to switch it up and put Mejia on the left side. Mar is excellent on the right, as his re-kill ability helped make him a International Racquetball Federation World Champion in Men’s Doubles with Montoya in 2021.
Also, in the match there were times when Muñoz’s positioning put Mejia into an awkward spot that led her to not playing her best in game one, so moving Mar over to Muñoz’s side may have solved that. Muñoz’s variety of half lob serves to Mejia were also effective, as she was keeping them tight to the right wall. Mar, as a tall man, may have been able to take those serves early with overhead returns that could have decreased Muñoz’s service effectiveness.
In the tournament overall, Muñoz and Natera have given up slightly fewer points per game than Longoria and Moscoso. Muñoz and Natera’s average points per game against is 7.4 (67 points in 9 games), while Longoria and Moscoso’s is 8.7 (61 points in 7 games).
Mixed doubles final will be Sunday at 1:15 PM Mountain time (or shortly after the IRT final, which Moscoso is playing in), and will be streamed on the LPRT YouTube channel.
KWM Gutterman World Singles and Doubles Open Championships
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, August 10-13, 2023
Pro Mixed Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday
8) Alan Natera & Carla Muñoz d. 4) Javier Mar & Montserrat Mejia, 15-8, 6-9, injury forfeit
2) Paola Longoria & Conrrado Moscoso d. 3) Alexandra Herrera & Eduardo Portillo, 15-10, 15-4
Pro Mixed Doubles - Final - Sunday
2) Paola Longoria & Conrrado Moscoso v. 8) Alan Natera & Carla Muñoz - 1:15 PM
Follow the bouncing ball….
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