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PARIS – Cristian Garín, chunky tennis player from Chile, is nicknamed El Tanque – The Tank.
But Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal's uncle and long-time coach, once said that Garín lacked "conviction" and "extra determination". A title in Garín's native country casts doubt on his mental endurance. These doubts are dissipating, a development that has been going on for a long time.
Six years ago, Garín had won the French junior title, but it was only Monday at Roland Garros that Garín, 22, signed his first Grand Slam victory by defeating the American. Reilly Opelka 7 to 6 (0). ), 7-5, 7-6 (7).
This was the last step in a career that was burdened by heavy expectations. Garín settled on the circuit this year, winning two titles and 20 clay-court matches, the second-best of Guido Pella's top 21 players. A little over a year ago, Garín was in the top 200. He is now 37th.
During this process, he rewrote his reputation from a player whose mental stamina was regularly questioned to the leader of the ATP's "Under Pressure" index, who assesses performance on breaking points, decisive points and decisive sets.
The road from Garín to the second round of the French Open took longer than expected.
Every weekend, his parents played tennis. He started playing at age 4 and started playing snowshoeing. He would become the most popular young hope in Chile, where tennis was his childhood. doubles, with Fernando González, at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
After reaching the second round of the ATP tournament in Santiago de Chile, at 16, Garín added to his excellent junior resume. He finished his title race at Roland Garros defeating Borna Coric, now number 15, in the semifinal and Alexander Zverev, now fifth in the standings, in the final.
Chile, like many other countries in South America where football reigns supreme, follows tennis in moderation, but with fervor. Fans of this country have long been looking for a successor to former world number one, Marcelo Ríos, as well as Massú. The first successes of Garín generated a lot of enthusiasm. He was sponsored by a car before he was old enough to drive. But he struggled early in his professional career, landing at the second level of the Challenger level while players like Coric and Zverev passed him.
"I do not like to think about my past, it was difficult for me," said Garín. "I've played a lot of Challengers, a lot of Futures."
After Garín failed to find chemistry with several coaches, his family sold their home and other property to pay for his move to Spain, where he trained for a some time at the Rafael Nadal Academy.
"You have to like it," said Nadal. "In the end, the difference is to participate or not; it depends on the obsession you put in it. It lacks that extra determination – I do not know if by lack of self-confidence or maturity – want to be a great player. "
As Garín reached his plateau, the media in Chile became increasingly skeptical about his potential. A The article by La Tercera bore a title indicating that Garín could not take himself in hand. The article was questioning his mental toughness after a moving defeat in the first round at a Challenger tournament in Santiago, while he was 20 years old and ranked 276th overall.
"Two-and-a-half hours later, he was sitting on the ground, head in both hands, while his friends were trying to console him with little success," he said. "Tears have reflected the inability to find a way out of a problem, which is already becoming a habit."
Massú recently said that patience would have been prudent in a sport where the sensations of adolescence no longer exist: "It's normal that you need a few years to adapt to the professional circuit."
Garín returned to Chile and began last year to work with Argentine coach Andrés Schneiter, who put the emphasis on preparing to relieve Garín and improve his game on the most important points . Under Schneiter's leadership, Garín is ranked in the top 100 for the first time at the end of last year, after winning three consecutive Challenger titles to finish his season.
Once the circuit is on the clay this season, Garín is launched in the races. He reached his first ATP final in São Paulo in March before imposing on Houston and Munich, the latter event including another victory over Zverev. Garín said that this year's goal was to improve hard and turf pitches, but his coach warned against too ambitious a vision.
"The idea is not to overload it because this year's goals are met," Schneiter said. said La Tercera this month. "This year was an adaptation, because you went from Challengers to face players you see on TV."
When Garín returns home after his title in Munich, he is greeted at a sponsor event with drums and smoke machines.
In less than five months of this season, he has already doubled his career award even without playing in the main draw of one of the lucrative Masters 1000 events.
The second stage of Garín, in the second round, will confront Stan Wawrinka, champion of the 2015 French Open.
"When you're in the top 100, you start training and playing every day with the best players in the world," Massú said. "You play big tournaments, you start to see how others play against you, against others. You start to see everything. You start to learn more things. I think he has the talent and the potential to be, one day, much better than now. "
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