The difficult weather conditions yesterday forced the organizers to condense all the first rounds of singles and doubles into today, for a very rich program.
24 games in total. In eighteen years of history, it had never happened that so little was played atASPRIA Tennis Cup – BCS Trophy (€74,825, clay). As in recent days, the rain disturbed the program and did not allow the conclusion of even one match. We experienced one of those days that we are used to seeing at Wimbledon, with the players taking refuge inside the club waiting for it to rain, and the supervisor Riccardo Ragazzini forced to update the playing order five times, in the hope of finishing some meetings. Nothing to be done: only a couple of game windows were possible, insufficient to decree verdicts. Of the three Italians on the pitch, the one who was managing the situation best was Giovanni Fonio, ahead 5-2 against the Frenchman Mathias Bourgue, by virtue of a break obtained in the fourth game thanks to a sumptuous backhand. Balance between Samuel Vincent Ruggeri and Michael Vrbensky, with the Czech ahead 4-3 (but without a break), while Enrico Dalla Valle’s match began on an uphill climb, trailing 3-1 against Ignacio Buse. That’s all, because the rain gave the tournament no chance despite the efforts of the organizers, who unleashed several staff to make the fields accessible in the shortest time possible. But every time we set off again, the rain started falling again. A real curse. The program will start again on Wednesday at 10am and includes 24 matches, all the first rounds of singles and doubles. On the Central Court, after the continuation of Vincent Ruggeri-Vrbensky, Ramos-Buenos, the eagerly awaited Cinà-Cecchinato and Varillas-Debru will be played, before two doubles matches. With the program so late, it couldn’t be otherwise.
ALBERT RAMOS’ ITALIAN COACH
In the depths of the ASPRIA Harbor Club, however, the absence of tennis allows us to uncover particularly interesting stories. Everyone knows, for example, that Albert Ramos-Vinolas he is the number 1 seed, favorite of the tournament and in search of a hat trick which would be historic, given that he is already the only player to have won twice in Milan (in 2011 and 2014). Not everyone knows, however, that the Catalan is followed at the ASPRIA Harbor Club by an Italian coach. This is Gianluca Carbone, a 49-year-old from Puglia with whom he had already collaborated in 2019 and 2020. At the beginning of the season, Ramos contacted him to ask him to work alongside his historic coach José Maria Diaz. “We alternate tournaments in which we follow Albert – says Carbone – who is a guy of exemplary professionalism. He is now 36 years old but he is determined to return to the top 100 and stay there for as long as possible, in order to end his career in a prestigious position”. For his part, the Apulian coach comes from varied experiences: after having followed Elena Bovina and Olivier Rochus at the beginning of their coaching career, he trained Lorenzo Giustino for a long time (he was in his corner when he won the historic match against Moutet at Roland Garros, 18-16 in the fifth set) and then he began a collaboration with the Estonian tennis federation, made possible thanks to the work with Kristjan Tamm, who quickly took him to the best ranking (n.625) before he injured his shoulder. Sstudious and profound connoisseur of the Spanish method, on which he published a study years ago, Carbone is increasingly oriented towards high level and his results confirm the goodness of Italian coaches, even those not directly involved with our players. In the Ramos clan, in Milan, there is also the 26-year-old Matteo Meneghetti, currently involved in the qualifiers of the ITF tournaments after having decided, no longer very young, to undertake professional activity. Meanwhile he is sparring with Ramos and will try to steal as many secrets as possible from the Spaniard.
THE DREAM OF TOSHIHIDE MATSUI
The doubles tournament does not always enjoy mainstream attention, but by examining the main draw of the Milanese tournament (where 27 of the 32 protagonists dedicate themselves exclusively to the specialty), we discover that there is the oldest player on the circuit among those who perform regular activities. And it’s even more mind-blowing that Toshihide Matsui is having his best time today, at 46 years of age. Former ATP number 261 in singles in 2006, a few years ago he set a goal that seemed crazy – given the starting point – and which today, however, is closer than ever: playing a Grand Slam tournament. He is currently number 124 in the ATP doubles ranking, a stone’s throw away from the best ranking (121) obtained a month ago. He is a regular partner with the 29-year-old Kaito Uesugi and together they are achieving notable results, to the point of coming close to the top-100 in the specialty. During the Covid stop he had thought about retiring, also because he became his father (his wife Tomoyo Tagakishi is a former tennis player), but he feels he still has health, strength and motivation. On an athletic level he makes an impression, having a sculpted physique that would be the envy of many twenty-year-olds. And so, with the examples of Kimiko Date (who played until she was 47) and the footballer Kazuyoshi Miura, still active at 57, he insists on his dream of playing a Slam. He is getting closer and closer to the goal, and Milan could help him in this sense. The Japanese pair will play their fifth match on court 13 against the South Americans Bueno-Gomez. An apparently banal match, therefore, actually has a curious story behind it. There are many in Challenger tournaments, but this one is really special
ORDER OF PLAY WEDNESDAY 26 JUNE
