Queen Letizia of Spain roars De la Puente and Caverzaschi to victory
There was a regal flavour to day three of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event as Queen Letizia of Spain was the guest of honour at Roland Garros – and roared her fellow countrymen to victory.
Queen Letizia lent her support to Spanish duo – and doubles partners – Martin de la Puente and Dani Caverzaschi and her presence clearly proved a lucky charm as the intrepid duo both advanced to round three of the men’s singles.
De la Puente cruised to victory over Argentina’s Ezequiel Casco 6-2 6-0, while Caverzaschi held his nerve to navigate a tense third set tiebreak against Korea Rep,'s Im Ho Won, prevailing 4-6 6-4 7-6(1), after a marathon encounter which lasted two hours and 54 minutes.
Queen Letizia celebrated and chatted with both players after their respective victories, while a wonderfully partisan atmosphere erupted among a healthy contingent of Spanish fans.
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“I knew that she may be coming,” said De la Puente. “The thing is I only knew when I had finished, which was a great surprise. It’s always a pleasure to do well and win for the Spanish flag and my teammates.
“The Queen was happy to watch the wheelchair tennis and I’m very proud of what we are doing – and really, really happy to be able to play in front of her.
“I met her and King Felipe VI when I won the US Open doubles in 2022. Carlos Alcaraz had just won the men’s event and we were all together in the Royal Palace of Madrid, which was special, as was today. Very special actually.
“It is always special to be in the Paralympic Games and the atmosphere was incredible today. There were many people and many supporters – it felt like home. I am very happy with my performance and everything which happened today.”
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De la Puente, who reached his maiden Grand Slam singles final in July before succumbing to home favourite Alfie Hewett, will now face Dutchman Maikel Scheffers for a place in the last eight here in Paris.
Victory over Scheffers would represent the 25-year-old’s best performance at a Paralympic Games after reaching the third round at Tokyo 2020 and second round in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Much like De La Puente’s career in general – steady improvement.
“The other Paralympics were different because in 2016 I was only 17 years old – a child – and I was just enjoying my time there,” added De la Puente, who was born with proteus syndrome, with fingers on one hand larger than those on the other, while he had his left foot amputated at the age of eight.
“I was not aiming for a result in Rio, I was just happy to be there. Then Tokyo, that was different again because there were no people and many restrictions. I have good memories of Tokyo, but it was tough because we lost all the energy from having a crowd.
“I am more experienced now and putting a little more pressure on myself. I am No. 3 in the world and I am happy to be in that position, one that I dreamed of as a kid. I need to keep pushing my level and, if I do, I believe I will have chances.”
Caverzaschi, meanwhile, who was born with several leg deformities, will now face, like De la Puente, a Dutchman in the third round. The 31-year-old will take on Tom Egberink, who claimed men’s singles silver at Tokyo 2020.
A full list of results from the Paris 2024 Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event is available here