Jaime Fillol and his unprecedented role as grandfather and captain of Chile in the United Cup: “I didn’t take a second to say yes to Nico”

One of the big surprises of the United Cup is the election of the captain of the Chilean team. It will be none other than Jaime Fillol, Nicolas Jarry’s grandfather the number one in the country and who appointed him to this position, like the rest of the team, which will ultimately be composed of Tomás Barrios, Daniela Seguel and Fernanda Labraña.

This designation marks an important milestone, since a grandfather had never led his grandson in a tournament of this nature. Likewise, it will mark the 77-year-old former tennis player’s return to leading a national team, since his role as Davis Cup captain in the 1980s.

“I don’t think there is a case like this in the world. He has this grace. That’s the main reason I go there. The grandson is the one who gets to choose the captain. The characteristics of this cup are not as rigorous and the role of the captain is somewhat different from what is usual, since he has a broader and less traditional role, since he must also help and communicate the goal of the championship, as a sort of diplomat. It is therefore also a public relations task,” underlines Jaime Fillol at Sporty.

The former world number 14 himself tells how this conversation took place with his grandson, current world number 19. “It starts with a question from Nicolas who, because he is the highest ranked Chilean player, has the opportunity to choose. I told him I was obviously grateful for the invitation. Then I received an email from championship director Stephen Farrow and he asked me to fill out some forms, he informed me of the role, of the characteristics,” he says. And he adds: “It was a very pleasant surprise. “I didn’t take a second to say yes to Nico.”

“I have that experience (of being captain), but the characteristics of this cup have a sense of unity, because it shows that the different professional tennis organizations can do things in common. It is not a competition with the Davis Cup, which has a very obvious performance history, but rather it is a tournament that seeks to unify, since there is the ATP, the WTA and the Australian Tennis Association “, he said.

During the recent edition of the competition, Fillol accompanied his grandson to Italy, where the group stage of the final took place and in which Chile faced Sweden, Italy and Canada.

The group will leave Chile on December 26. Before, as is tradition, the whole Fillol clan goes to the 8 p.m. mass on the 24th and then on the 25th they meet up with family. On this occasion, the brand new captain will spend time with his daughter Natalia and her husband Martín Rodríguez as well as his son Jaime, who traveled specially from the United States with his family.

The national representation will play its matches at the Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney, where it will face Canada and Greece in Group B. Thus, The first is scheduled for December 31 against the Americans, then will continue on January 2 against the Europeans. The group winner will face a best runner-up in the round of 16.

The tournament was born last year, in response to the controversies generated by the creation of the defunct ATP Cup. In this sense, this new championship was created which also replaced the Hopman Cup which took place until 2019. The tournament awards up to 500 points for respective rankings and distributes $15 million in prizes.

The competition takes place in Sydney and Perth. Each of the cities is home to three groups, where each faces each other. The winners of each zone and the two best runners-up qualify and compete in the quarter-finals. The format includes two singles matches (one for men and one for women) and one for mixed doubles.