He is 10 years old and despite his short stature, he marks his presence. Juani Assi plays tennis at Regatas Rosario, a sport that he has always loved since his sisters, Caterina and María Sol, play it and at the time they were well positioned, in the top positions at the national level, as a result of their behavior and organization. Like every boy his age, he looks at his idols and tries to imitate them. In his case, Roger Federer occupies the supreme place and he admires him so much that the one-handed backhand is identical. They call him the “Mini Roger” for a reason.
Juan Ignacio Assi, who trains under the orders of Alejo Apud, won the last National Sub10, a contest that took place in Salta and it had the peculiarity that for the first time it was played individually and not by teams as it was usually disputed. In La Linda he won all the games and lost only seven games in the entire tournament, which speaks of the very high level he reached. She also won in doubles along with Manuel Paniagua (the guy from Santa Fe she beat in the singles final).
“The curious thing about the case is that Juani was no longer playing in Sub10 but since it was the first National, the AAT asked him to play in his category,” said his coach.
Juan Ignacio’s performance did not escape the attention of the people of the AAT since during the tournament, the director of the Development team, Franco Squillari, together with Gonzalo Pressón and the experienced physical trainer Alberto Osete were present in the clubs observing the matches with follow-up tasks, analysis and physical assistance to the participants. The same was done by the Initiation and Promotion department of the AAT, with Romina Ottoboni in the follow-up of the competitors of the Sub 10 category.
“I like everything about tennis… playing, competing, training. My dream is to be a professional, to be able to play the US Open and other tournaments like that.”, confessed Assi himself who has not yet decided which direction to take since football also occupies a place in the hierarchy.
In fact, this Newell’s fan who is in fifth grade at Colegio San Bartoloméplays as a striker in Adiur and before that he passed through San Martín and Argentina 78. He trains every two days, at least an hour and a half of tennis and he dedicates almost the same time to football, always under the watchful eye of his parents who monitor him.
“Football helped him a lot in terms of leg power since he reaches incredible balls. We realized that it is essential to complement one sport with another, in addition to the fact that he has his mind on several things and does not suffer frustration if he loses a game “their parents confessed almost as a duet.
“We want him to learn, to live what sport is, to train and if tomorrow he wants to dedicate himself to this, let him do it. We give them the tools. We want him to choose when he is older. In either of the two sports, the road is very long and this is just beginning”, they concluded.
This weekend he disputes the Open tournament and on Monday he will say present in Córdoba to play the National Sub12which will be played until next Saturday and he will play singles and doubles.
