The Argentine Influence on Tommy Paul: Mate, Roasts, and Maradona

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Maradona, mate and roasts: the Argentine universe that inhabits Tommy Paul

The American, world No. 13, competes this week in Miami

March 18, 2024

Peter Staples/ATP Tour

Tommy Paul is coming off a semi-finalist in Indian Wells. By Juan Ramírez Carvajal

Judging by his taste for mate and roasts, and his habit of warming up by imitating Diego Maradona’s iconic warm-up to the rhythm of Life is Life, anyone would think that Tommy Paul is just another Argentinian. Furthermore, his solidity from the baseline and his great mobility, two great virtues in tennis players from this country, could reinforce the confusion. But the reality of the American is that his very high dose of Argentinianness comes from his environment.

Maybe it all started years ago when he was guided by coach Diego Moyano and physical trainer Gabriel Echevarría, both Argentine; and intensified with his current team. While Paul is coached by compatriot Brad Stine, the rest has something to do with Argentina. His physical trainer Franco Herrero and his physiotherapist Sebastián Cozzarín were born there. And although his second coach, Hugo Armando, was born in the United States, he is from an Argentine family.

That’s why the team’s breakfasts, when they meet in Boca Raton or in an ATP Tour tournament, always include mate. Even Tommy has his own personalized mate with his name, the United States flag, and the Argentine flag. “At first he told us: ‘What is that? I’m never going to take it.’ And he looked at us with a strange face,” explains Cozzarín in a conversation with ATPTour.com.

“Now all the team’s breakfasts are with mate. And to each tournament we travel with our mates and a bottle of Roland Garros in which we keep the yerba,” adds Cozzarín, also physiotherapist of the American Jessica Pegula.

“It is very rare for someone who is not Argentine to like mate. People from other countries try it and, generally, they don’t like it,” explains physical trainer Herrero. “It didn’t happen like that with Tommy. And now the most Argentine thing he has is mate.”

More than the taste of this typical Argentine infusion, which is quite bitter for many, the concept of drinking it in a group is what Paul likes the most. “Tennis players are very solitary, so Tommy likes to be accompanied. He understands that the moment of mate is social,” adds Cozzarín. “Mate is to share a moment in a group. In Argentina you connect when preparing mate or when you get together with others to make barbecue.”

The Argentine barbecue is also not missing from the team of the last semifinalist in Indian Wells when they are in Boca Raton, where they are neighbors. Cozzarín is generally in charge of the grill. The type of meat or cut does not matter. “The most important thing for Tommy is the time shared with the people he loves,” explains Herrero.

And that shared time means that everyone influences each other’s lives. Tommy has instilled in them a passion for fishing, offshore sailing, windsurfing, listening to country, and watching the Eagles on television. The Argentines on his team have not only taught him mate and roasts. Hence, the 26-year-old right-hander also lets out a “boludo” from time to time and now he has a little more interest in soccer.

In fact, Herrero is in the process of turning him into a Boca Juniors fan. “He is not such a football-loving boy, but I have to do it for Boca. The problem is that he is a bit of River Plate because Diego [Moyano] and Gabriel [Echavarría]who trained him before, were from this team.”

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What has caught Paul’s attention the most about this sport has been Diego Maradona, especially his warm-up before facing Bayern Munich with Napoli in the 1989 UEFA Cup. The world champion in Mexico 86 began dancing while warming up with the ball, and gave another meaning to Life is Life, the song that was playing in the background at that moment in the Olympic stadium in Munich.

For some time now, Paul has tried to imitate him from time to time when warming up before a practice or a game. “He saw the video and liked the magic of Diego. He caught her a lot of attention. So now he does it laughing because he knows that we are very Diego fans. He is funny when he imitates him and even puts his hands up like him,” explains Cozzarín.

Surely your Argentinian identity will be more accentuated when you visit Argentina for the first time. For now, perhaps his participation this fortnight in the Miami Open presented by Itaú is enough. After all, this city is one of the most populated by Argentine citizens in the United States, and it can be seen in the noisy and massive encouragement that the tennis players of this country receive at the ATP Masters 1000 in Florida.

It would be safe to say that Paul is increasingly deserving of that support.

2024-03-18 22:10:34
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