“These two weeks changed my life” – this year’s Roland-Garros unearths shining new talent in Etcheverry
Etcheverry was one of the standout performers at Roland-Garros, enjoying a breakthrough run in Paris this year
AI / Reuters / Panoramic
Around a year and a half after Juan Martin Del Potro‘s forced retirement from tennis, it appears the next wave of Argentinian talent has arrived.
Despite being a nation with such a rich and varied tradition of producing eye-catching tennis players, the departure of the ‘Tower of Tandil’ – as Del Potro was affectionately named – was a particularly difficult pill for Argentinian tennis fans to swallow.
They weren’t alone. Del Potro was, and remains, one of the most popular figures connected with the sport, and his absence was felt far beyond the shores of Argentina.
Roland-Garros breakthrough run for Etcheverry
Over the course of this fortnight in Paris, however, the tennis world has witnessed the official arrival of another Argentinian – one whose ferocious forehand and towering power play is as reminiscent of Del Potro as the tennis world has seen since his retirement.
Tomas Martin Etcheverry provided one of the storylines of Roland-Garros this year with his breakthrough run to a first Grand Slam quarter-final. But more intriguing than the results was the manner in which this young Argentine ripped through the opening four rounds.
Alexander Zverev, who ended Etcheverry’s run in the quarter-finals was one of the first to recognise this in his on-court interview.
“He’s playing incredible tennis. He reminds me a lot of Del Potro the way he plays, the way he hits his forehand especially.
“He’s an incredible player. He’s very young. I think if he continues playing like this, he’s going to be in the quarter-finals here a lot more often, that’s for sure.
“But I think he can be top 10, he can win big tournaments. He proved it this week.”
Style and substance in Etcheverry Roland-Garros charge
The 23-year-old deploys a swashbuckling style of all-out attacking play, making particularly effective use of his explosive, thunderous forehand to pull opponents off the court. He can terminate points straight from the baseline in a way few players can these days – particularly on a clay court – as well as demonstrating adept net play when needed.
Del Potro himself took a moment on social media to congratulate his compatriot for his accomplishment.
Muchas gracias juan 🤩 https://t.co/wkVkxnjrbR
— Tomás Etcheverry (@tometcheverry) June 7, 2023
While it has taken a little while longer than some other players for Etcheverry to break through – he was not one of the teenage wonders who’ve captured the attention of the tennis world in recent years – the signs were there.
He reached the final of the ATP 250 clay-court event in Santiago in early March this year, losing to another recently-emerged clay-court talent in Nicolas Jarry. More recently, the week prior to Roland-Garros, Etcheverry reached another final in a Challenger event in Bordeaux.
Can clay-court form translate to other surfaces?
But his run to the quarter-finals at one of the biggest tournaments in the world has served as the statement that every young player needs to assert himself into the conversation as one of the game’s disruptors.
It would appear this fact has not been lost on Etcheverry.
“These two weeks changed my life,” he said in the post-match press conference after being knocked out by Alexander Zverev in a closely-fought and absorbing contest.
“Today was an incredible experience for me to play in the Philippe-Chatrier stadium.
“Today I go and speak with my team, what happened in the match. But, of course, it was tough, but I played good tennis.”
So far, it is evident that Etcheverry is a real force on clay, but what is most exciting is the fact that his game actually lends itself well to both grass and hard courts due to his supreme power off the forehand wing.
For this reason, it will be fascinating to see how the explosive Argentine backs up this breakthrough run, and how he is able to perform on the grass and the hard court US swing in the weeks and months to follow.
