Alejandro Tabilo Achieves Italian Open Breakthrough Without Coach - UBITENNIS

Alejandro Tabilo Achieves Italian Open Breakthrough Without Coach

By Adam Addicott
3 Min Read

Alejandro Tabilo is having a fairytale run at the Italian Open where he has become the first player from his country to reach a Masters 1000 semi-final since 2009. 

The Chilean world No.32 first made headlines with a straight sets win over a lacklustre Novak Djokovic in the third round. Djokovic was far from his best amid concerns that he was suffering from the aftereffects of a freak accident where he was struck in the head by a bottle. Nevertheless, Tabilo has seized his opportunity by following up on that victory with two more wins. 

In the last 16, he beat 16th seed Karen Khachanov before getting the better of China’s Zhang Zhizhen in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, who he beat 6-3, 6-4. Until Rome, Tabilo had only reached the fourth round of a Masters event once in his career and was yet to break into the world’s top 30. 

“Just getting here, first time playing Rome, never thought I’d be here right now. It’s just a crazy feeling. It’s been crazy two weeks,” Tabilo told reporters.
“There’s still another match, so I got to regroup, keep thinking about my tennis, rest well, come out on Friday with everything I got. It’s been a crazy, crazy ride.”

The breakthrough run of the 26-year-old comes as he is currently training on the Tour without a coach. He had been working with Guille Gómez until shortly after the Madrid Open when they opted to end their partnership. 

“There are just a few problems with kind of logistics with the coaches ’cause we have, like, a pretty big team. We just couldn’t see eye-to-eye to some things,” he explained.
“It was a good split. We both decided it was best for us. I mean, with my coaches and everything, we’re still okay. Just we decided to split. I’ve been without a coach since right after Madrid.”

Whilst there was no animosity between the two, Tabilo said he received support from his family and friends following the departure of Gomez who was part of his team for almost a decade. During their time together, the Chilean enjoyed a stellar start to the 2024 season by reaching the final of three ATP events, winning his first Tour-level title at the start of the year in Auckland. 

“It was pretty sad,” he said. “I had a lot of phone calls, a lot of talks with my family, with my friends. They helped a lot.
“It’s been pretty crazy that I was able to keep my mental still pretty stable. I’ve been playing loose. We’ve been trying to not even think too much about tactics or anything. We’ve just been playing the game. I’ve been swinging. Lately, it’s been working.”

Tabilo will play Alexander Zverev in the Rome semi-finals after the German beat Taylor Fritz. According to the PIF ATP live rankings, he is currently projected to rise to a career-high of 25th place. 

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