Nine days before the start of 2026, the tennis already has a play that could be among the best of the year. For the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 de Brisbanethe American Brandon Nakashima and the belgian Raphaël Collignon they played an impressive point that included three “big willys” and they woke up awesome reaction in the public.
The match was notably marked by a magnificent play with the score 2-2 in the first set. The exchange caused both tennis players to pass the ball 20 times to delight the public with one of the most spectacular highlights of the week, which included three big willy (two from the Belgian and one from the American) and three hits when the point had already concluded.
Both Nakashima as Collignon They were so focused that They didn’t hear the automatic decision who called a forehand from the Belgian “bad” and they continued playing even after finishing the point, to the point that the last Willy, thrown by Collignon, no longer had value: the Japanese had won the point. After the umpire’s warning, The audience applauded wildly. for several seconds, unleashing the astonishment of the players.
Finally, the American would take the match by 6-3, 6-3 to qualify for the semifinals and face his compatriot Aleksandar Kovacevic for a place in the final of one of the first tournaments that makes up the tour prior to Australian Openfirst Grand Slam of the season.
The Gran Willyo tweener As it is known in its English translation, it is a move named after the Argentine tennis player’s nickname. Guillermo Vilas and which consists of hit the ball between your legs and from your back to the net, usually as a last defensive resort against a deep lob.
Popularized worldwide in the 1970s, it is a movement that requires a great skillan excellent timing and that has become a hallmark of Argentine tennis.
The hit was carried out by first time during a exhibition in 1974 between Vilas and the french Wanaro N’Godrella. In a way officialthe tennis player born in Mar del Plata applied it in a Indianapolis tournament in 1975on brick dust, before the Spanish Manuel Orentes.
