Nathan Matos fly. And he has chosen the sand to land. For years now, this man from Vigo has opted for beach volleyball as its field of action and is willing to continue taking steps – and leaps, if necessary – in that direction. He has already lived in Gran Canaria for a year to take advantage of the climate and facilities there in order to reach as high as possible. He rubs shoulders with the best Spanish specialists in its own tournaments but has its sights set beyond the borders. Without limit. If you have to go, even China will go.
Y in China he will compete in his first Challenge tournament in a matter of two weeks -second category- within the world Pro Tour circuit, the best. Specifically, he will move from one island to another, as he will compete in the event that takes place in Haikou, a ‘small’ town of just two million inhabitants that serves as the capital of the island of Hainan. All on the Pacific coast of China, between Vietnam and Hong Kong. Together with Pablo Pérez from Alicante, his partner in recent times, he will enter the classification with the desire to reach the final draw.
He himself explains how complicated it is to get a place at this level. “I have already played a couple of Futures – third category – and it is no longer easy to enter. Probably due to the change in the Olympic cycle, we got a place in this China in the previous ones. Also for the good result in Castellón -second in the WEVZA (Western European Volleyball Zonal Association) event, a circuit that brings together Portugal, France, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Germany and Spain-, which gave us quite a few international points and “The move to play this tournament is quite, quite professional,” he says.
Previous period
Haikou waits from November 13 to 17. But the adventure of the trip will last a little longer. “We traveled on the 7th to acclimatize, train, jet lag and all that”he explains. Afterwards, it will be time to measure strength against couples from all over the world, waiting for the draw to be finalized. By points, the Matos-Pérez duo is the penultimate of those classified. It will be necessary to demonstrate that such a circumstance is not definitive in a direct knockout format, for better and for worse, from the first day: “Everyone has to win to reach the draw.” So simple and so complicated.
