Ortiz vs. Brady Quarterfinal Tiebreaker at the 2014 Aces Player’s Championship
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Watch Mando Ortiz vs. Paul Brady HERE
(tiebreaker starts at 1:31:00)
Paul Brady entered the 2014 Player’s Championship on the heels of R48 victories in Denver and New York as he began his ascent to the top of the tour. Brady had lost just one tournament match in the U.S. since losing to David Chapman at the 2004 Four Wall Nationals in Portland (Moreno at the 2008 Simple Green U.S. Open). Mando Ortiz had shown that he had the game to beat any player on the planet, having defeated several WPH #1’s since his rise as a teenage prodigy.
In a special Reverse Blind Draw, the 5-8 ranked players picked out of a hat to choose the 1-4 ranked player he wanted to play. Mando Ortiz drew the number three. After Emmett Peixoto and Naty Alvarado, Jr. had been taken off the board, Ortiz had a choice between R48 #1 Luis Moreno and Paul Brady (urban myth has Ortiz selecting Brady with all four players still on the board). Having never defeated Moreno in the junior or pro encounters and nearly taking a game off Brady two months prior in New York, Ortiz rolled the dice and selected Brady.
Brady controlled the action on game one, cruising to a one-game lead, 21-15. Ortiz seized the momentum early in game two, eventually leading 18-8 and forcing a tiebreaker, 21-12.
Based on their close match in New York and splitting games in Salt Lake City, Ortiz was clearly comfortable and confident playing against the then three-time world champion.
Let’s crunch the numbers and see how this 11-point decider played out in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Aces Player’s Championship in Salt Lake City, UT.
Tiebreaker Stats
Aces
Ortiz: 1
Brady: 3
60% of Brady’s points came from his serve, while Ortiz notched just one of his 11 points on his serve (9%)
First Strike Kills
Ortiz: 5
Brady: 0
Ortiz tallied six of his 11 points with his serve and/or first-strike (55%), while Brady was unable to capitalize on any first-strike opportunities
Return of Serve Kills
Ortiz: 4
Brady: 0
Ortiz applied constant pressure on Brady’s over hit power serves, punishing three of The Gunner’s power serves that came off the back wall with roll outs, in addition to killing one over hit lob serve
Right Hand Rally-Enders
Ortiz: 9
Brady: 3
Left Hand Rally Enders
Ortiz: 5
Brady: 1
Ortiz ended the match with left left-handed kills, the first a pass that hopped into the Brady and the second a first-strike left corner kill
6+ Shot Rallies Won
Ortiz: 2
Brady: 2
The rallies were short in this clash, as just four rallies in 16 minutes were six shots or more
Errors
Ortiz: 4
Brady: 2
Fly Kills:
Ortiz: 0
Brady: 0
Hinders: 1 (hit ball incoming ball)
Time: 16 minutes
Final: 11-5
Total Points Scored: 16
“These are the kinds of matches Brady has found a way to win for the last 10 years,” stated WPH color commentator John Bike at the beginning of the tiebreaker.
Ortiz raced to a 9-1 lead in the tiebreaker, littering the stats sheet with one ace, four first strike kills, three return of serve kills, six right-hand kills, and two left-hand kills against one ace and one right-hand kill from Brady.
“Brady really has not figured out what strategy he wants to use with Mando,” stated WPH play-by-play announcer Dave Vincent.
Ortiz appeared to hit an ace at 9-3 that would have given him a match point, but the call was short. Ortiz made two errors to cut his lead to 5-9, but a timeout and two left-hand kills gave the Californian the win of his life.
“This feels so special for me to end Paul’s undefeated streak,” stated Ortiz in his post-match interview. “This is what I dreamt of as a kid. I just slowed down the pace and once I had leads, I played with confidence and pulled through.”
Watch Mando Ortiz vs. Paul Brady HERE
(tiebreaker starts at 1:31:00)
David Fink
WPH Statistician