Tomás Etcheverry is facing this Friday one of the biggest challenges that a tennis player can face: he faces Novak Djokovic, number one in the world, winner of 22 Grand Slams and one of the best rackets of all time. The Platense, 61st in the ranking, and the Serbian clash for the second round of the Masters 1000 in Rome, in which Nole defends the title he won last year. The Argentine knows that the challenge is enormous, but he has already warned that he will go out to fight and, above all, to enjoy a match that he has been waiting for a long time.
Etcheverry hit in the first game by breaking Djokovic's serve, which comes from a not so long inactivity. And he ratified the advantage by holding, with some work, his serve. Only in the third game Nole could start to add, but the platense continued to manage the advantage to be 3-1 up on the scoreboard. Then, the world number one again approached differences and returned the pressure to the Argentine.
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Playing with Djokovic is a dream come true. It was something I always wanted... I really wanted to be able to play against him sometime. Since I was very young I follow him. I was born and raised watching him play and win. Since I picked up a racket for the first time, he was already up," he said with a laugh in a chat with ATP.com.
"When I go out on the court I will be in front of one of the best in history ... But I will go out and give my best, I will try not to respect it and encourage myself to go for everything. And go out and beat him. It grabs me in a very good tennis moment, the best of my career, so that makes it even more special and it's a positive thing. I'm going to enjoy it a lot and try to focus on myself," he added.
The celebration of Etcheverry after getting his first ATP point, in October 2016. Photo Twitter
Djokovic is not just an idol for Etcheverry. It is the yardstick with which the platense has been measuring its evolution for years. It is that when he got his first ATP point, at age 17 and by beating the Peruvian Andre Ku Meza in the first round of the ITF in Salinas in October 2016, the Serbian was already number one.
Tommy, who had started in the qualy of the contest and said goodbye in the second round, celebrated that victory in a special way. On one piece of paper he wrote "Novak Djokovic 12,900 points; Tomás Etcheverry 1 point. 12,899" are missing and a photo was taken, which some time later appeared on social networks.
"My coach at the time, Luciano Cabeiro, came up with the idea of doing it... to motivate me. It was something original. We laughed a lot," the Argentine recalled. "When I got into the Top 100 I did it again, it was worth it."
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That second postcard arrived in April last year. After playing the final of the Mexico City Challenger, which he lost to the Swiss Marc Andrea Huesler, Etcheverry jumped from 106th to 95th step and got into the top hundred of the classification for the first time. And the same celebration came out: "Novak Djokovic 8,420, Tomás Etcheverry 714. 7,760 are missing." "I'm getting closer and closer, Nole," she wrote on Instagram alongside the photo and an emoji of a laughing little face.
The curious celebrations of the platense reached Djokovic, who this Thursday, in a talk with the press in Rome, said, laughing: "I saw his publications decreasing the difference of points between us. He has a chance to close the gap tomorrow."
"It's a nice story. I didn't have a chance to talk to him or watch him play much. He's a young player, new to the circuit. But he seems like a very nice guy. Argentine, and Argentina has a great tradition of tennis for many years. I wish him all the best except tomorrow night," he added, amused, the number one.
The duel will be, of course, the first between the two. Although the first meeting. Last year, they crossed paths at Roland Garros and the Argentine was encouraged to ask Nole for a photo, which he shared on Instagram.
Etcheverry comes from defeating 7-6 (9-7) and 6-3 the Frenchman Luca Van Assche, 85th in the classification, in what was his absolute debut in the contest played at the Foro Italico and which is the last important stop before Roland Garros.
The Platense, who this year reached his first ATP finals on the slow courts of Santiago de Chile and Houston, will go for the blow against Djokovic to get into the third round of a Masters 1000 for the first time. In his three previous appearances at this level, all this season, he has one drop in the first round (Indian Wells) and two in the second (Miami and Madrid).
Djokovic, top seed and free in the first round, will seek to take the first step to revalidate the title and arrive in the best way to the French Grand Slam. The Serb missed last week's Masters 1000 in Madrid with a discomfort in his right elbow, but arrived in the Italian capital fully recovered and showed training in very good shape in recent days.
This will be a special tournament for Nole, who already knows that he will lose the first place in the ranking next Monday in the hands of Carlos Alcaraz.
He has to defend 1,000 points and at best keep the 6,775 he holds today. And the Spaniard, who does not put anything at stake and with the title he won on Sunday at the Caja Mágica was five from the tip, will overcome it just by jumping on the court and collecting the 10 that the contest delivers to those who play the initial round.
Etcheverry and Djokovic at Roland Garros 2022. Photo Instagram @tomasetcheverry123
Etcheverry will not be the only Argentine on the court this Friday. In the first round will debut Francisco Cerúndolo, 24th seed. The porteño starts his way in the tournament -from 6 in our country- against the Chinese Yibing Wu, 57°, who won in the initial instance by 3-6, 6-3 and 6-3 against the Frenchman Richard Gasquet, 44°.
Following that match, Sebastián Báez, ranked 40th, will face Russian Alexander Shevchenko, 93rd. The Buenos Aires native comes from beating the Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas, 7th, 5-6 and 3-97. And his rival will play his first match in the main draw of the contest, since he had lost in the last round of the qualy, but got into the draw at the last moment due to the loss due to injury of the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.
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