“Now they don’t remember me much. “Everyone forgets… I have the peace of mind that my grandparents and some relatives know who I was for Chilean sport.”

The phrase comes from Luis Ayala, the player who, in the 50s and 60s, raised the name of Chile in the tennis circuits, at a time when being an amateur was a source of pride, when you earned little and no money, when you played with a wooden racket.

“Lucho” ceased to exist this Tuesday at the age of 91. He left with the peace of mind of having practiced his beloved sport until the last moment, teaching children the secrets of tennis in the city of Houston. .

Although he accused him of forgetfulness, ingratitude was never extreme for this man who left Santiago to go to Puerto Rico in 1980, because although television did not accompany him in his glorious days, his numbers are for him a basis to mark history, as well as allowing him to fight in several polls for the title of best national player of all time, a title in which he rivaled Marcelo Ríos and Fernando González.

The youngest of five brothers from a modest family in the capital came to tennis in a very natural way. Curious, “Lucho” and his brother Carlos crossed the Panamericana to spend the day at the Club Santiago, on Viel Avenue. First to watch, then to play with the wooden rackets they lent them. With its ball-passing function, a friendship was born with the members and the first beautiful gift: a new racket .

Unlike Carlos, better known as “Calei”, Luis planned his career as an amateur, which allowed him to make a career as a representative of the country. At 17 he was already playing for the Chilean adults, in the glorious days of the Mitre Cup. .

A year later he was already considered one of the best exponents, on a par with Ricardo Balbiers, Carlos Sanhueza and Andrés Hammersley. Other competitions would take place in South America until he was recognized as the greatest talent.

At the beginning, the social and generational confrontation with the veteran Hammersley, who came from a wealthy family, was special. The fight was greater in the following years, since it was always the brown one who won.

In 1952 his big chance came when he took part in the Davis Cup, European zone. Austria had a big surprise, after losing 4-1 thanks to a very good performance by Ayala. “I thought I would feel a natural nervousness, but no… He was a player with a lot of confidence,” recalls the captain at the time, Marcelo Taverne, in an interview published in the book History of Tennis in Chile (1882-2006), by the journalist Mario Cavalla.

After winning everything in Chile, he began his brilliant world career, becoming the sixth best tennis player in the world in 1959 (another ranking at the time placed him third). A year earlier, in 1960, he had achieved something that a Chilean had never achieved before: two finals at Roland Garros, which led him to be considered the best goalkeeper of the time (he won the doubles title in 1956). .

In 1961 he made a great decision: to turn professional, sacrificing his presence in the Grand Slam tournaments. From then on, the tournaments in the United States and Europe would come, with other stars who would follow the same path, including Alex Olmedo, Ashley Cooper and the Australian Rod Laver, who won the four major tournaments twice in the same season.

In 1969 he retired, the tributes, a long coaching career and his arrival in Houston, where death found him. .

It took Luis Ayala just eight years to become the player with the best statistics in the Davis Cup, reaching 37 wins and 14 losses (in singles and doubles).

However, in his best moments as a professional (in the early 1960s) he could not participate in the team competition, considering that the international entity did not accept the presence of professional players, as was the case at that time for the Grand Slam.

That is why the best memories of “Lucho” in Davis occurred when he was captain, a position he held between 1973 and 1982. It was precisely during this period that Chile achieved the best result in its history: runner-up in 1976.

On that occasion, Ayala was captain of the team made up of the young Patricio Cornejo and Jaime Fillol, already outstanding at international level. However, they were unable to beat Italy in the final match, even though the series was played in Santiago.