Alejandro Tabilo’s ‘crazy’ rise: Title city, defeating Novak Djokovic & Montreal debut | ATP Tour

Features Player

Tabilo’s ‘crazy’ rise: City of the title, beating Djokovic and the first match of Montreal

Chile shows its rise in 2024

August 06, 2024

27-year-old Alejandro Tabilo grew up in Toronto, where his parents Ricardo and Maria met. The Chilean moved from Canada to Florida when he was 13, but it’s some of his past that he misses the most. After defeating then-world number 1 Novak Djokovic in Rome earlier this year, Tabilo thought back to those early days.

“I’m just starting to think [when I was] here in Canada, where in the morning I went with my mother to practice,” Tabilo told ATPTour.com. “Or after coming home from school, my dad would wait outside the bus and we’d go to the park and play a little tennis… All those little memories when I was a kid again [not it has] come to this, which is what we have worked for all our lives.”

Tabilo is living his dream. The dynamic Lefty has enjoyed a great year on the ATP Tour, reaching a career high of No. 19 in the PIF ATP Rankings last month. Before 2024, he had never been ranked higher than No.

But on Tuesday evening, the 15th seed will enter Court Central in Montreal to compete in the Omnium Banque Nationale Presente par Rogers for the first time. Her match against Frances Tiafoe is a moment she has been waiting for since before she was a teenager.

Tabilo does not remember exactly when he trained at Parc Jarry, the tournament venue, but believes he was between eight and ten years old. The Chilean has been practicing at home for the Montreal ATP Masters 1000 event for “probably a month”, staying at a friend’s house while in town.

He will now face Tiafoe in front of thousands of Canadian fans in prime time. Already a star, he will do something memorable for the first time in a prestigious competition in the country in front of family and friends.

“Just being able to live with all this [my family] it was good. I think that’s why this week especially I was thinking about everything we did a lot,” said Tabilo. “I have already talked about it with my father. For him there are also feelings, all of this. He says that just walking for these reasons after everything we’ve been through – being here with me and when I was a little kid – and being able to live all this together, it’s really nice.

“In Canada, I won the country in all categories. I never got the surprise card for this event, so I didn’t get a chance to play it. I’ve never had that situation of going in alone.”

Tabilo started his season at World No. 85, aiming to finish in the Top 50 at the end of the season. It took him one week.

The left-hander claimed his first ATP Tour title in Auckland, where as a qualifier he defeated #NextGenATP star Arthur Fils in the semi-finals en route to the trophy. He highlighted that victory as important.

“I started to believe more in myself. I think it was something I was struggling with before,” said Tabilo. “I knew I could play well, I don’t know to what point. I never believed when I played with big boys that I could beat them.

“I think that gave me a bit of confidence that I could be there and just winning the title gave me a lot of confidence.”

That was an important week for the Chileans. After reaching the final in Santiago, his biggest moment of the year came in Rome. Like Montreal, Tabilo had never competed at the Foro Italico.

That didn’t bother him. The six-time ATP Challenger Tour champion advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal without dropping a set. In the third round, he beat Djokovic 6-2, 6-3.

Watch the best photos:

What would he have said if a few years ago someone had told him that would happen?

“I would say, ‘You’re crazy’. I couldn’t even believe it. I still can’t believe everything that happened especially [beating] Djokovic,” said Tabilo. “You always work for that, you always dream at that time, but when that opportunity comes, it’s always difficult to do it and I’m just very grateful for that. I’ve been playing well, I’ve been healthy and hopefully I can continue to do that. I live now with that experience and I will just try to use it for the future.”

This outstanding victory helped boost Tabilo’s confidence, and it shows on the court. The Chilean wears his heart on his sleeve and is a fearless competitor. Her husband, Nicolas Jarry, went to say hello and made sure to point it out.

“He is the most vocal boy [passion] for tennis players,” said Jarry.

Tabilo won his second ATP Tour title on grass in Mallorca and continued to play well.

“After that [win against Djokovic], it was just playing, just swinging and not thinking too much about it, which was always a struggle, the mental side,” said Tabilo. “I was very focused on that.”

Now Tabilo has a chance to show Canadian fans how far he has come since growing up in this country. He certainly relished the opportunity under the Montreal lights.

“Everything went fast this year. I guess I still can’t stop and process everything. But actually this week made me think because I am here with my whole family,” said Tabilo. “Just coming here, being the main draw, even seeded, is crazy to me. This week there was a reality check on where we are right now. “