Ignacio Chela: 2001 Match Against Pete Sampras Was Turning Point in My Career

Advertisemen

Former Top 20 player Juan Ignacio Chela, who is currently coaching Diego Schwartzman, says playing his idol Pete Sampras at the 2001 Australian Open helped his confidence and marked a turning point in his career. Chela lost the match to Sampras in five sets in the third round in Melbourne but says the match made a big difference to his career, 

Speaking to the ATP Tour website, Chela says, "It was the game that helped me a lot and marked me.. Sampras was my idol, to watch him on TV and have him in front and be on top, two sets to one, end up losing in the fifth, but I started to feel really good. That he could beat the best and I knew I was close. It helped me a lot for my confidence, with my return: I began to feel that if I could return the serve to Sampras, I could return it to anyone. From there I began to believe it ... and everything is serving you and adding to improve and get higher and higher. In the long run, you may know that inside you had much more to give, and boy, would you succeed."

Chela adds that he cannot believe that 20 years have passed since his breakthrough on the ATP circuit. "The truth is that when I think that 20 years have passed I can't believe it ... time passed very quickly. That 2000 was my first great year, when it all started: I got into the Top100, I won my first title ATP and I have incredible memories… I went to play the qualy, I passed it, I beat Guga Kuerten in the draw and I ended up winning the tournament. Maybe at that time I didn't really realize what I had achieved because they are half unconscious, they are all new experiences. But that's where I got in, there is No. 73 in the world, everything very fast and you're already entering the whirlpool of each week, new goals. Now looking at it from a distance was one of the most important weeks of my career, without a doubt. ”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3aB4ztV

Advertisemen

 Tennis