Etcheverry Showing Comfort And Rolling On At Roland Garros

Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Tomas Martin Etcheverry (photo: NECKARCUP)

PARIS/WASHINGTON, June 7, 2023 (by Michael Dickens)

Tomas Martin Etcheverry was born to play on clay. Growing up in Argentina, it’s a surface that everyone – including the 23-year-old La Plata native – learned how to play tennis on. Not only is Etcheverry showing a level of comfort on the red dirt of Roland Garros, he has also knocked off three seeds in consecutive matches to move into his first major quarterfinal at the French Open.

On Monday evening, the 49th-ranked Etcheverry moved into the last eight opposite No. 22 seed Alexander Zverev after beating No. 27 seed Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan, 7-6 (8), 6-0, 6-1, in back of a dozen aces and 37 winners. After entering this year’s clay-court major with a 1-5 win-loss record in Grand Slam main draws, Etcheverry has strung together four straight victories, beginning with No. 18 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia and No. 15 seed Borna Coric of Croatia. He has not dropped a set (11-0) while improving his win-loss record on clay this season to 17-8 as he continues his quest for his first tour-level title.

“For me, I have a lot of emotions right now. I think I am really, really happy,” Etcheverry said during his post-match press conference. After defeating Nishioka, Etcheverry dropped to his knees and covered his teary eyes with his hands. He told the crowd assembled on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, “I want to thank all the Argentinians here; this is the happiest time of my life.”

Afterward, Etcheverry explained: “The best moment of my life. Of course, in the next round it’s going to be tough.”

Asked in press after beating Coric what it means to be in the second week of Roland Garros, Etcheverry said: “It’s a dream come true for me. I worked so hard for this moment since I was a little guy, you know.” 

Etcheverry, a three-time tour-level finalist on clay this season, at Santiago, Houston and Bordeaux, compiled ATP Challenger Tour win-loss records of 49-19 in 2021 and 41-16 last year, highlighted by clay-court titles at Perugia and Trieste (2021) and Concepcion-2 (2022).

With his run to the quarterfinals in Paris, he’s moved up to No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, ahead of Zverev (live ranking of No. 34), who is defending semifinal points.

“Sascha Zverev, I think, he has a lot of more experience than me, but I feel really good to play against him,” Etcheverry admitted Monday night in press. “I am playing incredible tennis this week, and just I have to focus on my game and trying to do the same like I am doing every day.” 

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By the numbers

• Novak Djokovic is 307-162 lifetime in tiebreakers, which gives him the all-time best winning percentage (65.5) in the Open Era of men’s professional tennis. This season, Djokovic is 14-4 in tiebreakers, including 8-1 in majors.

• Not only did Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia play in the WTA’s longest match of the year on Monday – a whopping three hours, 51 minutes to reach her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal she also became the first woman from her country to reach a major quarterfinal since Maria Bueno in 1968.

“Quotable …”

• “You know that I really respect all of you, and I’m always open. You can ask whatever you want. You will get all the information, but in the last press conference, I felt like my press conference became a political TV show, and I’m not expert in politics. I’m just a tennis player.”

– Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who skipped official media obligations and participated in closed question-and-answer sessions earlier during the French Open at her request following her third- and fourth-round matches. She held a regular press conference after her quarterfinal win against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine Tuesday.

• “Leaving Paris with a very bitter feeling. All these days, after every match I’ve played in Paris, I always appreciate and thanked crowd for support and being there for the players. But yesterday I was booed for just being respectful on my opponent’s position not to shake hands.

“Me and Elina showed respect to each other after a tough match but leaving the court like that was the worst part of yesterday. Be better, love each other. Don’t spread hate. Try to make this world better. I will love RG no matter what, always and forever. See you next year.”

– Daria Kasatkina of Russia, via Twitter Monday, a day after her fourth-round loss to Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. In lieu of a handshake at the net, they each gave a thumbs-up gesture as they walked off the court. Kasatkina was booed by the French fans as she exited the court.

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