The Chilean tennis player Nicolás Jarry assured this Sunday that despite feeling that he does not come with “a very good consistency”, he hopes to have a “very good tournament” at the ATP in Santiago, the Chile Open, where he will defend the title on the center court of San Carlos de Apoquindo.
“I have to play at a very good level, not feeling like I come with very good consistency like I achieved last year. “I am working very hard on that, I am also going to have a very good tournament like in Buenos Aires,” said the 28-year-old tennis player.
The Chilean has just fallen in the first round at the ATP in Rio de Janeiro, immediately after having been a finalist in the Argentine capital where he beat the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz (2nd) to advance and lost to the German Yannick Hanfmann (56th), also present in Chile.
“I hope to continue giving it, achieving those types of matches, victories, but with more solidity of play,” commented the Chilean who, since the end of 2023, appointed the Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela as coach, formerly 15th in the ATP rankings and a Grand Slam quarterfinalist in Roland Garros (2004, 2011) and the US Open (2007).
Jarry said he did not feel additional pressure for being the defending champion of the trophy, but he stressed the importance of playing at home.
“The truth is that I don’t feel pressure that way. I always want to win and do my best, beat whoever comes my way, but play well while at home. In the end it’s one chance a year and it’s nice to do it well, like I did last year. I would love to do it again,” she said.
A picture of Chileans
In addition to Jarry, the French Arthur Fils (36th), the Argentine Sebastián Báez (30th), and the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (52nd) were freed in the first round that begins this Monday, in which the Buenos Aires champion, the Argentine Facundo Díaz Acosta (59th) will face his compatriot Pedro Cachin (76th).
The Santiago ATP suffered, a few days before its start, the loss of Croatian tennis player Marin Cilic (1,044 in the ATP ranking), former world number 3 and champion of the 2014 US Open, who declined to participate after suffering an injury in the tournament in Buenos Aires.
The draw complicated the aspirations of the Chilean rackets by being framed within the same side of the draw, three of them in the same key, which at least guarantees that a national tennis player will be in the quarterfinals at the ATP in Santiago.
The Chileans Cristian Garín (88th) and Tomás Barrios (120th) will face each other in the first round, and the winner will face his compatriot Tabilo, fourth seed in the competition, in the round of 16.
“I don’t see the draw, I know that Cristian and Tabilo meet in the first round. It is not the best thing as a Chilean, you always want us to do well in this tournament, it is our opportunity to play at home. It is unfortunate that it happened in the draw, but these are things that happen,” Jarry mentioned about the fate of his teammates.
This Monday the Spanish Albert Ramos (96th) will also face the Bolivian Hugo Dellien (135th), the Argentine Mariano Navone (113th) against the Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas (108th), the Spanish duel of Jaume Munar ( 73rd) and Bernabé Zapata (93rd), while the Colombian Daniel Galán (78th) will play against the Italian-Argentine Luciano Darderi (77th).