Argentine tennis triumphs beyond its borders

Do a lot with little. Fight to the end, regardless of the raw material you have. Have a bomb-proof fighting spirit. Part of the idiosyncrasy From the Argentine people, passionate, fervent to the core, he is transferred to a sport in which he is far from the great economic powers. Tennis always aroused passions among the Albicelestes, creating a collective obsession for the Davis Cup already finished, but which has allowed the production of a lot of young talent that, however, does not always see the light at the end of the tunnel in a sport where the economy rules. For all this and more, the season 2021 It has been an absolutely historic year for the Argentine tennis. Nobody won that much.

And it is historical because it is, once again, the demonstration of the will power of those kids who, under normal conditions, would never earn as much as they are doing. If we go to the number of tournaments organized by country, Argentina is very far from the more than 50 events who signed powers like U.S, Spain or France; also among the more than 40 in Italy, where the correlation between the number of events – opportunities for young tennis players – is stronger. production of great talents. If the theory dictates that this is the greatest logical process to generate great champions, Argentina is determined to show that there are romantic intangibles that go far beyond logic: that they are banned against anyone and that they are capable of shining anywhere. , at any level.

As our friend remarks Ariel fernandez on Twitter, Argentine tennis ended up conquered 50 titles, in total, in this 2021. They are distributed in 2 ATP tournaments, 20 Challenger tournaments (the country, in fact, that more tournaments of this level won) and 28 ITF tournaments (tied with the United States and only surpassed by France and Italy) . The United States is the co-leader of this classification, with 50 titles in total (1 more ATP, 1 less Challenger) and in third place on the podium are France and Italy, with 44 titles each. Big data that, as we say, must be contextualized through that ability to persist beyond logistical difficulties and opportunities.

– Countries with the most ATP, Challenger and ITF titles won in 2021:

—- 50 (2 ATP – 20 CH – 28 ITF)

—- 50 (3 ATP – 19 CH – 28 ITF)

—- 44 (1 ATP – 11 CH – 32 ITF)

—- 44 (7 ATP – 8 CH – 29 ITF)

—- 39 (6 ATP – 12 CH – 21 ITF)

All this is MERIT of the kids. Everything to lungs.

– Ariel Fernández (@ AFD7L) December 26, 2021

A PROMISING FUTURE

In Puntodebreak we already talked about the Argentine generation that is to come, a trench of tennis players hungry to make the leap to the ATP circuit and that has carved its way into the Challengers of Old Europe, far, even, from the heat of the people and the crowded stands. The pandemic has served as an impressive accolade to names like Sebastian Baez, Juan Manuel and Francisco Cerúndolo, Thiago Tirante, Tomás Etcheverry or Camilo Ugo CarabelliAll names with a lot to learn but who have already left their mark throughout this season. Proof of this are some brutal data and statistics that speak clearly of an upward trend, a trend that does not promise to stop.

And it is that Argentina is, today, the country that more tennis players under 23 years old has in the top-300 of the ranking: up to 5 names (all the aforementioned, except for Fran Cerúndolo), a payroll that exceeds other countries where Futures and Challengers are counted almost in the hundreds (Italy, for example, only adds 4; France and the United States, 3). All this is explained thanks to the impressive performance of Albiceleste tennis on the Challenger circuit, where the only benefit they have been able to obtain in the post-pandemic campaign has been the high number of events played on clay, its natural habitat.

Because, beyond that, the opportunities have arrived far from the south american continent. Sebastian Baez is the absolute leader, with 6 crowns: only one of them arrived on Argentine soil (Buenos Aires, although he reigned in the small tours held in his own continent, lifting three crowns in Chile and only the Zagreb tournament in Europe) . Whoever follows him, Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, did not have it so easy: his 3 titles came in the Old Continent, two in Italy and one in Bosnia Herzegovina, just like it happened to Faith Coria (one of his two titles came in the Czech Republic, in addition to his first ATP final came in Sweden) or Tomás Etcheverry (who made the most of the tours in Italy, being champion in Perugia and Trieste). Pedro Cachín triumphed in Portugal, Facundo Bagnis in Austria, Camilo Ugo Carabelli in Poland, Fran Cerúndlo in Italy, and Facundo Mena and Thiago Tirante were able to do it in South America, but not at home (both in Ecuador; Much to thank for the tour organized by the Rock Flea, which provided a vital springboard to the South American Legion).

In short, data that illuminates an absolutely unforgettable season that does not deserve to be forgotten. Data that speak clearly of that Argentine DNA that allows their people to shine through so much darkness, to be competitive to the maximum because they never allow themselves the luxury of taking anything for granted. And, as if that were not enough, the future holds great things, with a generation of warriors who, in addition, wants to give 100% to be part of the Davis Cup team one day, led by Guillermo Coria. The sky is the limit: Argentines will continue to squeeze that paradox so difficult to explain.