Hail and rain ruin the last day in Benitachell

Hail and rain ruined the last day of the Region of Valencia Tennis Challenge, the first unofficial tournament to be played in Spain after the stop in the beginning of March of the sport of the racket in the whole world due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ironically, the slopes of the Cumbre del Sol, in Benitachell, suddenly darkened and puddled in a matter of minutes due to the tremendous downpour that fell around 1:35 p.m. this Sunday, when just one game and part of another had been played between Roberto Bautista and Alex de Miñaur. A powerful thunderclap had announced shortly before the suspension what was to come immediately. “Hostias,” said the Australian based in Alicante, who had gone ahead with a break and was 40-30 in his favor when the hail balls filled the clay of the Alicante complex.

The operators did everything they could to drain the water on the court, which did not have tarps to protect themselves from the hail balls that fell insistently. And when they had almost everything ready for the game to resume (around 17:00), the cold drop struck again and made the celebration of this meeting impossible. and of which Pablo Carreño and Pablo Andújar were going to dispute later. Thus the things, of Benitachell the participants left, pioneers after the confinement, with victories of De Miñaur against Andújar (6-2 and 6-3) and of Bautista against Carreño (double 6-4) on Friday; and triumphs of Bautista against Andújar (double 6-1) and De Miñaur against Carreño (7-5 ​​and 6-4). The Castellón and Aussie were playing the title without an audience and with security measures to preserve health, but in the end they could not fight for him. That honor was taken by the rain.