Nerves once again got the better of the Chilean tennis player, who showed a good level. He was unable to close the second set twice and ended up losing. In this way, the European team gains an advantage over the rest of the world.
Alejandro Tabilo (22nd ATP) made his debut in the Laver Cup. The national tennis player became the first Chilean to participate in the tournament on court -Nicolás Jarry was a substitute in 2018- and made his debut at the high level against Grigor Dimitrov (10th) in Berlin. But the result was bitter: 7-6(4) and 7-6(2) in favour of the Bulgarian.
Ale has made it his mission to equal the overall score of the series between Europe and the rest of the world. Early in the morning, the Argentinian Francisco Cerúndolo beat the Norwegian Casper Ruud, while the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas beat the Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Besides, the challenge was not easy at all and there was already a favorable balance sheet for the former world number three. Ale did not back down from the request and showed a very good level of tennis, much better than what he had shown in previous weeks, but once again his nerves played tricks on him.
The first set was very balanced and offered great points to both players, which triggered the euphoria of the crowd that came to the Uber Arena. It was not strange that everything was defined in the tie-break where Dimitrov was much more accurate and was starting to get patchy with a notable return to the Chile backline.
Incredible comeback
Despite the disappointment of losing the tie-break, Tabilo managed to overcome the bad moment, saving three break points in the first game and attacking his rival’s serve at the right time. to break it twice in a row, causing joy to his captain, the legendary John McEnroe (on the other side was Björn Borg).
He combined his successes with the Bulgarian’s mistakes to take the lead. However, when I was ready to force the first super tie-break of the tournament, The left-hander was unable to take advantage of a 5-1 lead and three set points in his favor. He reduced the intensity, failed with his first serves and Dimitrov started hitting the ball further down the court and looked much more active. His magnificent one-handed parallel backhand wreaked havoc and brought him immediate benefits both emotionally and tennis-wise.
As best he could, Horacio Matta’s student won the twelfth game to take it all the way to the tie-break. A new decisive test to keep the pressure on, an aspect that has given rise to more than a few complications in recent years. And this time he felt it again. Beyond the devastating play of the Bulgarian, who even suffered a sprain, his chance had already run out and he ended up abandoning a match that could have had a completely different fate.
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.
