Fernandez, Mathewson and Cayulef win gold at Parapan American Games
Gustavo Fernandez and Dana Mathewson all but secured their qualification for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games after they claimed the men’s and women’s singles gold medals at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago. Francisco Cayulef won the quad singles gold medal on home soil as Chile finished top of the wheelchair tennis medal table.
An emotional Fernandez closed his 2023 season with his fourth successive Parapan American Games men’s singles gold medal and his seventh gold medal in total at his regional games after defeating Chile’s Alexander Cataldo 6-2 6-0 in exactly an hour.
The world No. 3’s family were among the Argentinian delegation cheering him on courtside, alongside an enthusiastic home crowd who were hoping that Cataldo could cause an upset as the two players met for just the third time.
The singles gold medal came a day after Fernandez and Ezequiel Casco had battled their way to the men’s doubles gold medal, the duo beating Brazilian second seeds Gustavo Carneiro Silva and Daniel Rodrigues 7-5 1-6 (10-3) after having also beaten top seeds Cataldo and Brayan Tapia 6-1 0-6 (11-9) in the semi-finals.
It was a third successive Parapan Am Games men’s doubles gold medal for Fernandez and his second partnering Casco in three editions of the games.
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Mathewson ends Parapan American career with double gold
An eventful end of 2023 for Dana Mathewson saw the top seed clinch her first Parapan American Games singles gold medal as the women’s podium was occupied by the same three players who had won different colour medals in Lima, Peru in 2019.
Just eight days before her upcoming wedding, the USA’s world No. 7 beat Colombia’s defending gold medallist Angelica Bernal on clay for the first time and avenged her loss to Bernal in the Lima semi-finals four years ago as she took the women’s singles final 6-3 4-6 6-2.
Given the honour of carrying the USA flag at the opening ceremony for what is likely to be her last Parapan American Games – Mathewson is intending to retire after the Paris 2024 Paralympics – the top seed needed two hours and 12 minutes before ending Bernal’s hopes of back-to-back gold medals and improving on the bronze medal she won in Lima four years ago.
At 32, Mathewson is twice the age of Maylee Phelps, but the combination of experience and youth gelled effectively to reach the women’s doubles final for the loss of just three games. They then recovered from a nervous start to beat top seeds Bernal and Johana Martinez 3-6 6-2 (10-8) and take the gold medal.
After starting 2023 by winning the Cruyff Foundation Junior Masters, 16-year-old Phelps now has her first Parapan American Games gold medal, while for Mathewson it was her second successive women’s doubles gold medal at the event, having partnered Emmy Kaiser to victory in 2019, beating the same Colombian opponents in the final.
Cayulef helps Chile top wheelchair tennis medal table
Francisco Cayulef’s first Parapan American Games contesting the quad singles and doubles events saw the 37-year-old also leave Santiago with a brace of gold medals, his haul helping the host nation top the wheelchair tennis medal table with two gold medals, one silver medal and two bronze medals out of the 18 medals that were won across the seven days of competition.
Home support from an appreciative and enthusiastic crowd spurred Cayulef to his first career win over Lima 2019 gold medallist Robert Shaw 6-3 5-7 6-4 as the Chilean took their third meeting of the year in two hours and 19 minutes.
There was a second career win for Leandro Pena against Ymanitu Silva in the all-Brazilian bronze medal play-off, Pena prevailing 6-2 7-6(5) against his doubles partner, who he joined forces with on the last of the seven days of competition to narrowly miss out on the quad doubles gold medal.
Pena and Silva’s loss was ultimately Chile’s gain as Cayulef and Diego Perez brought the curtain down on the 2023 Parapan American Games with a home gold medal, Cayulef and Perez beating Pena and Silva 6-7(5) 6-2 (10-7) after two hours and 21 minutes to give Chile their fifth wheelchair tennis medal of the week.