'We don't have words': Colombians Bernal and Rodriguez Trujillo soar
Colombia’s Angelica Bernal and Zuleinny Rodriguez Trujillo staged a stunning comeback to overpower home favourites Pauline Deroulede and Ksenia Chasteau on Court Philippe Chatrier in the Paris 2024 women’s doubles.
In what proved the game of the day, Deroulede and Chasteau were leading 9-7 in the first match tiebreak in Paralympic Games history before Bernal and Zuleinny came storming back to win 6-2 4-6 11-9.
A quarter-final berth now awaits the pair, who were playing a competitive match together for the first time today, while for Bernal this was her first win at a Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event since London 2012.
Understandably it was a special moment for the 29-year-old, as it also was for Rodriquez Trujillo who was making her Paralympic debut here – and still receiving congratulations from back home when she arrived at the mixed zone.
“We don’t have words to say how we feel to play on this court [Philippe Chatrier] and to win,” said Bernal, who has phocomelia and was born without her right leg, resulting in her using a prosthetic from the age of two.
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“This is a really important court, the court of Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic – so big in the history of tennis. We feel honoured to have played on this court.
“We are really happy, it’s unbelievable. The atmosphere was really great and we saw so many Colombian people here. We knew it was going to be a tough match because it’s the French, and also our first doubles match together.
“When we were 9-7, we weren’t thinking it was match point, we just continued playing and really, really concentrated. We also just had to be together, just the two of us on the court. For these reasons, this is the best moment of our careers.
“So many people from Colombia are so happy for this victory and it is a victory for all the people who have made this dream come true – coaches, family and friends in Colombia. So many years of work have gone into making this moment.”
As well as working as a model previously, an interesting fact about Rodriguez Trujillo is that she co-founded a food outlet run by her family in Cali. Given her heroics on Philippe Chatrier, cooking up a storm is clearly something she has a taste for.