Gonzalo Zeitune completed his time as a junior in 2023, and will now seek to succeed in the senior circuit.
“Jorge always beats me,” he says, laughing, Gonzalo Zeitune, finishing his tennis training at Unidad Zionista. Jorge is his uncle and his coach. The balance of the year that he closed is more than positive for the 18-year-old tennis player from Tucumán. In 2023 he played at Roland Garros at the junior level and got his first professional point for the ranking of the Association of Professional Tennis Players (ATP). Now, for 2024, he is going for more.
“Last year I started junior and dabbled in some professional tournaments, but the truth is I wasn’t planning on playing anything professional, much less getting an ATP point this year. Very happy with that and with my first half of the year, that I played juniors; I got a lot out of it, I played incredible tournaments, so I’m very happy,” analyzes Zeitune about his year.
Until the age of 18, any tennis player can play in tournaments on the junior circuit of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and play in a certain number of professional tournaments; Once past that age, he no longer has any alternative but to fully compete in the professional circuit, a much tougher field.
The better results they achieve, logically, the junior tennis players can compete in increasingly important tournaments. That happened to the man from Tucumán, who became 75th in the world, which allowed him to play the qualifying phase of Roland Garros, one of the four Grand Slams; name given to the most important tennis tournaments, both at the professional and junior level.
“It was one of the goals (to play GS). I qualified for the Australian Open, but I didn’t go because it coincided with the preseason. I had the luxury of going to play in Europe for five, six weeks, which was a unique experience, not to mention Roland Garros. It was an incredible experience, being there with all the greats, eating, training in the same place, seeing them, the stadiums full. It is an inexplicable feeling,” Gonzalo reflected. During his time in the Parisian Open, he achieved a victory in the first round of qualifying, but in the duel for access to the main draw, he could not beat the Italian Gabriele Vulpitta.
The unexpected first point on the professional tennis circuit
The year that passed was, indeed, a positive year for Zeitune. After playing Roland Garros, he returned to the country and played the M25 in Rosario, a top circuit tournament. Until that point, he had only played five professional tournaments, and only in one, an M25 in Salta at the end of 2022, had he managed to enter the main draw.
In Rosario, Zeitune was able to win its three qualifying matches and enter the main draw. There, in the first round, he defeated the Paraguayan Hernando Escurrathus achieving his first point for the ATP ranking, being the first Tucumán to achieve it since Guillermo Duran in 2018.
“I passed the qualifying, there were three very tough games, and in the first round I got a Paraguayan who played very well, but I knew I had my chance and I didn’t waste it, playing very well,” recalls Zeitune. That not only earned him his first victory in a professional tournament, but also allowed him to receive an invitation to the Santa Fe Challenger qualy the following week; a tournament already of a higher grade than the Futures, which are usually played by tennis players from a much better position in the ranking, and from another hierarchy. Fate wanted that, once again, the Paraguayan Escurra was his rival, although on this occasion, the Guaraní was able to take revenge.
IT GOES FOR EVERYTHING. After achieving his first ATP point, Zeitune, decided to stop playing junior tournaments. THE GAZETTE / DIEGO ARAOZ
The transition to professionalism in tennis
After achieving that first ATP point, Zeitune says, he decided to stop playing junior tournaments and dedicate himself fully to professionalism. An intelligent decision, taking into account that next year he will have to compete exclusively on this circuit, but that does not make it unchallenging; The transition to the professional circuit is a key moment in a tennis player’s career.
“It’s a big, difficult jump. You have to adapt and train fully. The most difficult thing is that in junior no one plays for money, and in professional tournaments they do, so people don’t even give you lunch, the atmosphere is much more competitive. You’re going to win, and you’re going to lose. There has to be a lot of commitment, everything depends on you, more than the others,” Zeitune analyzed, about the moment in his career that he is already going through, and that he will continue to experience in the coming months.
“I played a lot of juniors, I always dreamed of being a professional, dedicating myself to this, and I continue on this long path. I am fulfilling my dreams, my objectives; This doesn’t end here obviously, I have bigger goals. I never imagined being among the 100 best in the world and debuting in GS at the age of 17, so I’m very happy about that, and going professional,” said Gonzalo, about his time in youth tennis, which allowed him He also represented Argentina in the Junior Davis Cup, achieving a very outstanding fourth place.
The possibility of playing tennis in Tucumán and the future
Argentine tennis is in a moment of growth, with the emergence of many interesting projects and many players achieving the necessary points to appear in the professional ranking. In part, this is due to the increase in the number of tournaments held in the country.
“It is a very great opportunity, many people do not have the economic opportunity to travel, so it is a privilege to have these tournaments in the country. They give a lot of opportunities, before there were not so many tournaments in Argentina and South America,” Zeitune points out in this regard.
And among the cities that hosted professional events, Tucumán appears. Máximo, Gonzalo’s cousin, was able to compete in the South American Sub 16 in 2022, the same fields where Mariana Zóttoli y Emilse Ruiz They made their professional debut in the same year. For Gonzalo, playing in his province still appears as a pending account.
“Playing at home is one of the best feelings; Being here with your whole family, with people who support you, in places you know, is a pretty big advantage. There is greater pressure, because all your family and friends are watching, but it is impressive, the best of the competition,” Zeitune stressed, with the desire to be able to compete in competitions at home soon.
“The idea in 2024 is to play Futures tournaments, in Argentina or if you have to travel outside the country, you will have to travel. The objective is going to be to add matches, and if it happens, continue adding ATP points, and place myself as best as possible in the ranking,” Gonzalo concluded, regarding his expectations for this year.
2024-01-04 14:21:36
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