Chile is all set to bring wonders in the Italian Open tour 2024. After Nicolas Jarry‘s swift semifinal entry in Rome, his colleague and fellow Chilean tennis player Alejandro Tabilo also reached the tour’s other semifinal. While this feat marks Chile’s one significant achievement in professional tennis, Jarry reveals how it is an interesting sport in the country “outside of football”. 

After defeating the world’s number-eight ATP star Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jarry reached Rome’s semifinals, waiting to try his luck against America’s Tommy Paul. Post-victory, Jarry was asked about his feelings given that he and Tabilo made it to Rome’s semifinals. “Two Chilean players in the semifinal. Is it unreal or not so unreal?” -asked the interviewer. However, Jarry’s response revealed his country’s perception of tennis disappointing his fans globally. “Unreal? I think it’s pretty unreal for Chile. We are a very little country that has had very good success in tennis. It’s mainly I think, yeah, a bit of luck”- Jarry said.

Nicolas Jarry further spoke about how his generation’s tennis players are attracting more Chileans towards tennis. However, he also mentioned how football is still the biggest sport in the country. “I think generation through generation, since we’ve been having good players, tennis is interesting for Chile – outside of football. Football is still the biggest” – he said.

Despite expressing the real state of tennis in Chile, Nicolas Jarry spoke about how big a deal it is for the country to have two talented players reaching the semifinals of Rome’s clay court. He concluded his answer by saying- “Yeah, to have two players in the Masters 1000 semis a big deal for us. Yeah, hopefully everybody can enjoy this moment. I think more moments will come.” 

Jarry’s revelation represents how players from many countries are trying to make tennis popular in their places. For that, players like Jarry or Tabilo are leaving no stone unturned to attract fans through their incredible performances. While Nicolas Jarry’s words echo wise observation, Alejandro Tabilo surprises the fraternity with his interesting gesture post-victory at the quarterfinals.

Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo performs “Unagi” as he celebrates his entry in Rome’s semifinal

Despite tennis having less popularity in Chile, Jarry and Tabilo’s happiness sees no bounds as they embark on making a record for their country. After defeating Zhang Zhizhen by 6-3 and 6-4, Tabilo places two fingers on two sides of his temple and says Unagi. Unagi is a state of complete awareness that helps humans to overcome any danger. Tabilo’s post-victory gesture expressed his state of mind.

“The celebration is for my girlfriend, It’s from Friends. I’d already seen it and was rewatching it. When my girlfriend started watching it for the first time, it was the ‘unagi’ episode. Then we started saying we needed to be more aware of what’s going on around us, that I should be more focused on court. We started to tease each other with unagi and that’s where the celebration came from” said the Chilean ATP star.

He further spoke about focusing on his emotions to perform better- “We’ve worked on the mental side with my team, we’ve talked a lot with psychologists, The idea is to be more relaxed, breathe, control my emotions more on court, and not lose my concentration as much. It’s something I needed. I’m more relaxed in my matches. If I lose a set, I reset and think that everything can change quickly, and I have to keep fighting. That has given me results.”

Nicolas Jarry’s statement might disappoint fans thinking why tennis can’t receive equal popularity in Chile like football. However, they should be proud to see how players like Jarry and Tabilo are working hard and performing well to break that stereotype and make Chileans interested in this racket sport.