National duel in the first, a Chilean assured in the quarters and Jarry as favorite: the 2024 Chilean Open begins

This Monday begins the main draw of the Chile Open. The tournament organized in San Carlos de Apoquindo has four national representatives: Nicolás Jarry (21st), Alejandro Tabilo (51st), Christian Garin (83rd) and Tomás Barrios (111th) . There could even have been five, but Matías Soto (634th) fell in qualifying against Argentinian Juan Manuel Cerúndolo (161st) and was at the gates of the main draw.

The Chileans, for their part, will make their debut in the competition on Tuesday, the day they will play in a classic between compatriots. Arieño and Chilanejo will face each other in the first round, while Príncipe and Jano await them in the round of 16. Actually, The Canadian native must face the winner of the duel between Chileans, which ensures a national in the quarterfinals . Additionally, there is the possibility of another semi-final encounter, as everyone is on the same side of the draw.

A situation quite detrimental to local aspirations, which Barrios himself referred to: “Obviously, it’s not the best to play among the Chileans. We want the Chilean to advance, but we are all on the same side. It’s not ideal, but we’ll make the most of it there. “, he emphasized. However, he also enjoyed the confrontation against Garin: “It will be a great match. I hope the best will win,” he said.

Jarry lives in an ATP 250 in Santiago, different from the others. The first national racket is the top seed and defending champion of the competition. Without a doubt, the best candidate to win the tournament which closes the South American tour on brick dust.

“I feel good about defending the title, it’s not an easy task, but I’m healthy and looking forward to it. . You have to advance game by game and give your best in each one to emerge victorious,” the Prince said in a preview. “I always want to win and do my best. I want to beat whoever crosses me. I would love to repeat the title “, he added.

The Chilean, who seeks to overcome the fall in the final of the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires and the tough defeat in the first round of the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro, will only make his debut on Wednesday, in the round of 16. There awaits the winner of the duel between the Argentinian Federico Coria (89th) and the Slovak Alex Molcan (135th), from qualifying.

Jarry is going through a moment of change, as he establishes himself with his new coaching staff. At the end of 2023, the national team announced that former tennis player Juan Ignacio Chela would be its new coach and that he would join César Fábregas, with whom he says he is “very focused on work and solidity, without radical change in the way to work “. .”

However, he also made a self-criticism: “I don’t arrive with very good regularity, but I work hard at it “. During the South American tour, for example, he managed to beat the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (2nd) in the semi-final of the Argentine Open, but fell in the final against the local Facundo Díaz Acosta (52nd). . He also fell on his debut in Brazil against the German Yannick Hanfmann (49th).

Matías Soto created a surprise during Chile Open qualifying although he is one victory away from entering the main draw of the tournament taking place in Las Condes.

Copapino achieved, directly, the best performance of his career, winning his first victory in an ATP 250 category tournament. . The victory against Andrea Vavassori (137th) is also the best he has experienced as a professional. The Italian had just reached the quarter-finals in Buenos Aires, losing to Alcaraz.

However, he failed in the second round of qualifying and lost to Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, by a close doubles 4–6. Today, the 24-year-old tennis player, who received a Wild Card to participate in the qualifiers, He will focus on the doubles, where he will defend the final obtained last year with the Brazilian Orlando Luz.

It is worth mentioning that the start of Soto’s career was not like that of most of his Chilean peers. The Copapino decided to go to the United States to study and enjoy competing at the university level. A career that also allowed him to be called by Nicolás Massú to join the Davis Cup team, although he has not yet managed to make his debut in the competition since he is the fourth or fifth player in singles from the Chilean captain.