Who is Alejandro Tabilo, conqueror of Novak Djokovic?
Until 12 May 2024, Chilean tennis player Alejandro Tabilo had been struggling to achieve a win on the ATP Tour against top 20 and top-10 ranked players.
So, stepping up to the clay court of the Foro Italico in Rome against the men's world number one and record-breaking 24-time Grand Slam champion would provide the ultimate test of the 29th seed's form.
Just over an hour later and Tabilo had beaten one Novak Djokovic 2-6 3-6 to progress to the fourth round of the 2024 Italian Open.
"I can't believe it," said the Canadian-born, Santiago resident in a post-match press conference. "I've been talking with my family, my girlfriend, all my friends... I just can't believe it. I'm soaking it all in with my team, still trying to process.
"My team were asking me when I realised during the game that I could win," continued the 26-year-old of the question everyone wanted to know the answer to. "Honestly, in no moment, was I like, okay, I can win this.
"After the first set I was quite happy. I was playing incredible tennis. I just wanted to keep that level because with Novak it's always very difficult the physical side.
"The whole match I was just trying to take it point by point. I didn't even think about the scores of singles, every point was like at the start of the match, and I think that helped a lot, and let me stay a little bit more relaxed."
Meanwhile, the out-of-sorts Serb praised his opponent's good all-round game before reflecting on his own performance.
"The way I felt on the court today was completely like a different player in my shoes," said the 36-year-old. "There has simply been no rhythm, no tempo, no balance on any level, no coordination... It's a bit worrying."
Referencing whether a bottle accidentally hitting him on the head the previous round after falling from someone's bag had had an impact, the Olympic bronze medallist cited feeling a "disbalance" and would be having follow-up medical checks.
Nevertheless, the breakthrough for Tabilo brought joy to Chile sports fans, and dreams of Olympic medal success once again, with Paris 2024 less than three months away.
The next generation of Chilean tennis
Tennis is second only to football in terms of popularity in Chile, said Tabilo, with success for his nation at Athens 2004 particularly impactful.
Nicolas Massú won two gold medals, in individual and doubles, the only man to have won both gold medals at the same Games since the re-introduction of Olympic tennis in 1988.
Fernando González was Massú's doubles partner, the pair claiming Chile's first-ever Olympic gold medal. González also won bronze in singles and went on to win silver in the individual event at Beijing 2008, to claim the full set.
González is also the only other Chilean to have beaten a world No 1 player when he beat Roger Federer in the 2007 Nitto ATP Finals round.
Their impact, initially from afar, has been key for Tabilo, starting with his father showing him YouTube videos of Massú, Gonzalez and Marcelo Ríos – the latter the first Latin American men's player to reach the top of the ATP singles rankings.
In recent years, with increasing success, that support has been more direct.
"Now that I am at a certain level in Chile, I have been able to get to know Gonzalez and Massú more and they have always helped me a lot. They've always been there watching my games and giving me advice, especially Massú, who is the captain [of the Chilean tennis team]. Ríos also texts me from time to time to see how I go or congratulate me. It's very nice to have their support," he continued.
His immediate team have been with Tabilo since he moved to Santiago aged 18, after a five-year foray in the US from 13.
"Basically, my whole journey started there with a new team, all start from zero... so yeah, it's been a pretty crazy ride."
Inconsistency due to injuries has plagued Tabilo until now but a focus on physical fitness and mental strength "to be able to close these kind of matches", appears to have done the trick.
With Tabilo's latest result, and a young contingent of Cristian Garín, Nico Jarry, and Tomás Barros in the Chile men's tennis team, could Paris 2024 provide an opportunity for a first Olympic medal since Beijing 2008?
"It's an honour for maybe people thinking that generation is coming up, but it's tough to compete in some form with Massú and González who were incredible for the country. Rios also," said Tabilo.
"Now I think we're all just trying to start building our tennis and everything, and we're still a pretty young team, so, hopefully we can do something good, also in the Davis Cup, and, especially the Olympics. Very, very excited to play that and it's going to be an honour, especially after what Massú and González have done for Chile."
But for now, Tabilo needs to take heed from lessons learned during his Djokovic match and take one moment at a time. As he looks toward a fourth-round match on Tuesday (14 May), there's still time to contemplate his success against one of sport's great icons, and celebrate the moment with family and friends.
"It's been a very, very crazy journey," said Tabilo, "especially for my family. So many sacrifices... I left home at such a young age, and I've taken a while to get here. I hope I can move on and stay."
- As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
- Click here to see the official qualification system for each sport.
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