Grand Slam tournaments are a privileged showcase and they show the world the quality and hierarchy of national tennis. The atmosphere wonders what happens in Argentina that so many players arise, because it is almost a routine that some compatriot shakes with a blow and brings out his claw and his tireless fighting spirit. And any result of course that is enhanced on the big stages such as Roland Garros.
It is true that for us the Parisian tournament is something very special. It is a goal, an objective, a dream to fulfill. As the tennis player grows, he renews his expectations in this same championship. First is to play the classification, then it is to enter the main draw and in the end it is to try to play another edition. Winning a match is a dream for someone who as a child once imagined being on a stage of such magnitude. And it never ceases to surprise us that it is almost routine that names emerge in tournaments of this importance.
Because while Roland Garros welcomes him and allows him to show his evolution to Genaro Olivieri, who reached the third round without ever having played a main draw in ATP tournaments, it also extends the carpet to the consecrated Argentines, who sometimes rediscover their confidence in this tournament, and to many other young people who arrive with a prestige and a ranking of great champions.
Now, why do so many players leave in Argentina? What's going on? The fans of the world watch and enjoy our players, who compete with great humility and at the same time with enormous confidence. But while the world watches the players, international tennis players want the Argentine coaches. To those who formed those who are on the court surprising many or making themselves known.
It is as if the foreign tennis player sometimes sees in the Argentine a kind of mirror in which he would like to see his own evolution, his own growth. So, this ends up being like a quest to ask what the secret is, what the formula is. What do the players have? What do those Argentine coaches have who are quoted and highly sought-after?
Juan Pablo Varillas makes history for Peru with Diego Junqueira. Photo: EFE
The list is growing: Andrés Schneiter with Cristian Garín, Diego Junqueira with the Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas, Facundo Lugones and Sebastián Prieto with the British Cameron Norrie and Daniel Evans, Sebastián Gutiérrez with the Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, Eduardo Infantino with the American Brandon Nakashima, Alberto Mancini and Juan Pablo Brzezicki with the Germans Daniel Altmaier and Yannick Hanfmann, Germán Gaich with the Italian Fabio Fognini, Franco Davin with the Russian Veronika Kudermetova in the women's circuit, Gustavo Marcaccio in the team of the Spanish Rafael Nadal and in his academy, and Dante Bottini, who was with Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov. And you can go on for a long time,
The links are very valuable when it comes to assembling the chain. The tennis player is the last link, but the most valuable in this chain of values are the teachers who with enormous passion and commitment put a racket in the hand of that boy or girl and make them fall in love with sport. And at the same time they give that initial training, which is the key foundation, because they make the child fond of a sport that at first can be unfriendly because of the difficulty.
Learning to play takes a long time, but with that enormous vocation the coaches end up giving them such a good training that many discover that tennis can be the place they decide to travel. Because of the natural ability that goes hand in hand with talent and the skill acquired thanks to the dedication of the coaches, boys and girls can dream of one day becoming professional tennis players.
The value of Argentine tennis lies in the enormous quality of its coaches and teachers in each of the stages of the players. Many times only tennis players are seen, but those who give them shine are anonymous and many were those who first put a racket in their hands and gave them the first instructions. They are the ones who get up every morning to try to transmit that passion and that love for tennis.
Paris, France. Special for Clarín.
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