Paquito Navarro is back to smiling on court. His return to the backhand side with Fede Chingotto and the good results have made the player from Seville feel comfortable on court again.
The Bullpadel player has recently reviewed in Diario Olé and VeinteDiez how was his time on the forehand side with Juan Tello and the beginning of his project with Chingotto.
Here we tell you everything about the interview they did with Paquito Navarro!
The reasons that led them to continue betting on the couple Paquito – Tello
“The worst thing that could have happened to us was winning the tournament in Mexico. I thought that if with so little time on the right and without too many training sessions together we achieved that, with a good pre-season we were going to achieve a lot. I knew that if I changed sides I couldn’t have a better couple than Tello. The sensations at the beginning weren’t bad at all, but then in the first tournament we didn’t feel comfortable, the defeat against Zalo Rubio and Javi Ruiz took away our confidence. Then we lost against Maxi Sanchez and Lucas Campagnolo, who can make things difficult for you at any moment. That undermined the project a bit. In La Rioja we played on the fastest court in the circuit and we were beaten by two guys like Libaak and Augsburger. We could never feel comfortable. Before going any lower we talked and decided to look for a conventional forehand. So well, at least I found out that my side is the backhand, hehe”.
On his start to the season in 2023
“Sportingly, it was a pretty bad start. It didn’t go the way we expected it to. But I have a clear conscience. We made a very brave movement. Gato Tello is a ten-point guy and we wanted to make it work, but it didn’t. 99% of the blame was mine for not being able to adapt. Ninety-nine per cent of the blame was mine for not being able to adapt to the right. We were right to try it because we saw that we could be a very dangerous couple and we would have time to go back to playing with a conventional forehand. It didn’t go very well, but I got rid of the thorn of having played there”.
What he has found most difficult in the drive position
“On the forehand, I was able to hit all the shots remarkably well. What I couldn’t do was to go half a second before the opponent’s shot. I reacted behind the shot, so I was never able to control the ball. In the backhand, maybe because I’ve been there for thirty years, I can anticipate and that’s a big advantage in professional sport”.
The change of positions with Juan Tello
“It opened a door that we hadn’t tried before. We didn’t rule it out. Any formula would be good for us to win. It could open a new window to be a couple with the possibility of changing sides. But we quickly realised that neither of us was made to play on the right”.
The similarities between Fede Chingotto and Martin Di Nenno
“They are as similar as you can find on the circuit: a super solid defence, an insatiable spirit, always working for the teammate and with a good vibe. They have that invisible job that is more important than it seems and they make the backhand can shine. I value him a lot more now. It’s like the defensive midfield of football. Fede does it perfectly and I’m lucky that in my day-to-day life I have a great time with him. I needed that amount of confidence and joy to get my game back, so I’ll always be eternally grateful to him for trusting me”.
What he expects from this season with Chingotto
“Chingo is ready for everything and more. He’s at the best level I’ve ever seen him. I would love to be able to add that little bit of tournament experience to him so that he can aspire to everything. The goal was to get back to my game. I think I’m getting there. From now on, without setting ourselves limits”.
