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After several years where no Chilean men finished a season inside the Top 100 (from 2011 to 2017), men's tennis in Chile is seeing quite a revival with two youngsters breaking into the Top 100 in 2019. In 2019, 23-year-old Cristian Garin won 2 ATP titles in Houston and Munich while 24-year-old Nicolas Jarry won his first ATP title in Bastad and reached the final of another in Geneva.
Based on the results of these two countries, Chile have qualified for the first edition of the ATP Cup in Australia where they are part of Group A, alongside France, Serbia and South Africa, which is being played in Brisbane.
Speaking to the ATP Cup website, Hans Podlipnik-Castillo, a member of the ATP Cup team, says, "We have Cris and Nico and two younger players coming up, and I think they're going to create a very powerful team for the future.
They're already showing amazing results, and I think being here proves that Chile is back on the world's elite and that's very positive for the country”. Jarry says he has had an amazing journey since the beginning of his career.
"It’s been an amazing journey since the beginning. As any tennis player, there have been a lot of ups and downs. [In 2018], in my first year on the ATP Tour, reaching my first final [in Sao Paulo], then a couple of semi-finals.
Things have happened to push me and to keep fighting”. Garin says the team members are all very close to one another and try to help improve one another. "We are all very close to each other, and we are trying to improve together.
I think that we have good years coming so we have to keep working, keep doing the same things and keep enjoying the life of the tennis player”.