After 47 years, Alejandro Tabilo became the first Chilean to play in the semifinals of an ATP on grass. And in Mallorca, against the Frenchman Gael Monfils (40th), he wanted to continue making history and continue surpassing his ceiling in the ranking. And, after a remarkable comeback, he achieved it, winning by 2-6, 6-2 and 7-6 (3), which meant becoming the first national player to play finals on all surfaces in the open era.
He had entered the tournament ranked 24th in the world and with his two wins he ensured that he was 22nd, his best ranking. A victory against the Frenchman would not only place him in the top 20, but the country would once again have two players in that select group after 19 years (Fernando González, 16th, and Nicolás Massú, 18th, on March 28, 2005).. Therefore, what was done by Horacio Matta’s pupil is truly remarkable.
He did have to work hard, though, as things looked complicated for the Toronto native from the first game. The European, without a great effort and with a lot of help from the left-hander, achieved a quick break that allowed him to take the advantagewhich would later be accentuated with another consecutive break in the third game, after the national player let a ball pass after thinking it had gone long.
With the set very difficult, the 27-year-old’s mission was to recover the level of the previous rounds, to cause damage again with his shots and not to make so many mistakes with his forehand. His experienced rival, on the other hand, remained in his element. Without despairing and doing what was necessary, he closed the first round with a ace.
The start of the second set began much better. From the start, Tabilo calmly won his serve and that gave him the chance to be ahead for the first time. He adjusted his strokes, improved his mobility and He raised his second serve percentage from 29% to 70%.
Besides, He managed to put pressure on Monfils on the return and he felt it committing some double faults and unforced errorswhich helped the country’s number two to go bankrupt for the first time in the sixth game. Doubts took hold of the Parisian and He also couldn’t hold his serve in the next turn and with a double fault he lost the set.
With feelings strengthened, Jano entered to play the final set. His rival regained the concentration she had lost and the heat was very close. The Chilean also notably saved two break points in the fifth game.to reaffirm their convictions and face the final part of the match with extra confidence.
Everything was defined in the tie-breakperhaps the instance where the psychological factor weighs the most. A mini break in the third point after a long forehand from Monfils raised hopesbut an unforced error with the same blow from the Chilean leveled everything again.
But this time Tabilo was not going to let old ghosts revive in this same situation and took the initiative, with deep and powerful shots, forcing a break again. And not only that, He gave away the best point of the match with a spectacular backhand volley to make it 5-3. Finally, the Frenchman failed with a double fault and the Chilean managed to raise his arms and make his story bigger. He advanced to his third final of the year, after Auckland and Santiago, and will seek the second title of his career.
For the title they will face the winner of the match between the Austrian Sebastian Ofner (54th) and Britain’s Paul Jubb (289th)who face each other next. If he wins, he will also become the new number one in Chile, since Nicolás Jarry would fall to 20th place and he would be 19th.
