6-3 and 6-4 national victory against Zhang Zhizhen (56th). Nicolás Jarry (24th), for his part, will play his duel this Thursday against Stefanos Tsitsipas (8th).
The dream is still latent in Rome. Alejandro Tabilo (32nd) maintained his excellent level this Wednesday and ensured his presence among the first four of the Italian Masters 1000, something no Chilean has achieved since 2009.
The score that allowed him to reach this milestone was a resounding 6-3 and 6-4 against the Chinese Zhang Zhizhen (56th), who could not do much in the face of a practically perfect approach from the Chilean. Understanding that his rival is a specialist from the back of the court, Jano always looked for points to develop near the net. Either by pushing your rival forward, or by attacking with quick raises.
The latter was also achieved thanks to an extremely high level of service. Just like against Djokovic (1st) and Khachanov (18th), Tabilo achieved surprising numbers when it was his turn to initiate the actions. Seven aces, 83% of points won with the first serve and only ten points lost with his serve in the match with any of his statistics against Zhang.
This aggressive style ended up surprising the Chinese, who at no point in the match showed themselves capable of creating a surprise. A break in the first set and another in the first game of the second set tipped the scales in favor of the Toronto native, who is already in the semi-final of the last Masters 1000 on clay of the season.
A step that only two Chileans had reached in the Open Era. Marcelo Ríos lost the 1997 final and won the 1998 edition while Fernando González reached the definition in 2007 and two years later he reached the semi-finals . Each time, Mano de Piedra ended up falling to Rafael Nadal, the best player in history on clay and 10-time winner of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia title.
For Tabilo, it’s still the best week of his life. The one that most tennis players on the tour give up without being close to reaching. He started the tournament for the first time as the top seed of a Masters 1000 and in the third round he won an incredible match against Novak Djokovic (1st), to the point that he beat him. the quickest defeat the Serb has suffered on clay in his career . Far from ending there, after beating the one in the world, he dispatched Karen Khachanov (18th), semi-finalist of the US Open 2022 and the Australian Open 2023, in the round of 16.
In the round of the best eight and with favoritism for the first time after two duels, Jano showed why This Monday, he will be among the 30 best tennis players in the rankings . He did not hesitate and made a key commitment of his career. Another one more. The only thing that separates it from the final Alexander Zverev (5th) who beat Taylor Fritz (13th) this Wednesday.
But Jano is not the only Chilean competing, as Nicolás Jarry is also in the round of 16 in Rome. His rival in this case is Stefanos Tsitsipas (8th) and the duel will be played no earlier than 1 p.m. in Chile.
The reactions
With the path to the semi-finals closed, Alejandro Tabilo was honest about his feelings at the Foro Italico. He made it clear that he was playing at his best, but also admitted that in key moments a lot of things went through his head.
“It was definitely the best tennis of my life, but I was trying to keep a straight face on the court, because I was very nervous. Every time I had to go and close out the match, I felt more tired, so I just tried to smile. and I think that serving so well at the end helped me close the match,” he admitted during the official broadcast of the tournament.
During this conversation he also took the opportunity to thank those who accompanied him during his stay in the Italian capital. “Certainly two unforgettable weeks for me with the whole team “My brother, my best friend, my girlfriend who arrived today, I am surrounded by great people and happy to move forward here,” he concluded.
Follow in El Deportivo:
Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.