Nicolás Jarry: tennis in the blood | ATP Tour

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Nicolás Jarry: tennis in the blood

His best position in the PIF ATP Rankings is No. 18, four less than his grandfather

April 15, 2024

Nicolás Jarry is the current No. 22 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
By ATPTour.com/es Staff

Nicolás Jarry was predestined to play tennis, all that remained was for destiny to dictate at what level he would wield the racket. And time has placed him at the same level as the best players in the world. So much so that his ceiling in the PIF ATP Rankings is set at No. 18 which he reached last January.

They are only four positions less than the highest that his grandfather Jaime Fillol could reach, one of the great pioneers of tennis in Chile, who became the benchmark for his country in the 1970s. Then, in March 1974 He became No. 14 in the world.

But, beyond being a mirror in which to look at yourself, have you ever talked about who will be the best of the two? “No, we have never talked and I have never joked with him about it,” Jarry is quick to explain to ATPTour.com. “It’s not something we’ve ever talked about. Neither about the ranking nor about results.”

Not even in a joking tone. The grandson’s respect for his grandfather would prevent him from even suggesting something like that. “No, no, there is a tennis part and a human part,” he says about his relationship with his grandfather. “For me he is much more of a human reference than a tennis reference and, even so, in terms of tennis I am not there yet.”

And that reference has helped him become stronger as a player over the years. The experience of the oldest has been a support for the youngest, who is now going through a path that they have already traveled before at home.

“My grandfather has given me a more experienced, much wiser vision of what tennis is,” Jarry acknowledges. “In the end, he has been through a lot and when we talk about tennis he has a much more open vision.”

Jaime Fillol was responsible for instilling in his grandson the passion for tennis. He did it when he practiced with him, they imagined playing in the Grand Slams or they traveled together to those big tournaments.

“We joked that we played indoors at home. Other times he would say: ‘Ready, let’s play at Wimbledon’ and we would go outside on the grass, set up the net and play,” Jarry says. “Then we played the US Open, I took the cars out of the driveway, we put the net on the asphalt and we played tennis there.”

And when he had the opportunity, he also accompanied him to the stages where he began to dream of being able to play (for real) one day. “I don’t know if they are memories or if it has to do with the images that one sees when one grows up, but I know that I went with him and accompanied him with my mother to the US Open when I was six years old,” he confesses.

“Later I have more vivid, more real memories, when I went to Wimbledon with him a couple of times, at least I accompanied him, and at the same time he played in seniors or legends. He went with my mother and saw him,” the Chilean continues recalling.

However, it is on clay where Jarry has managed to build most of his career success. In his record he has three titles, all won on clay: Bastad 2019, Santiago 2023 and Geneva 2023. He also has three more finals in Sao Paulo 2018, Geneva 2019 and Buenos Aires 2024.

“In addition to being the surface that is most common or natural to me, in Chile there are only clay tracks,” he clarifies about its favorable relationship with the reddish mantle. “I think I have become very strong mentally and also physically, to endure long rallies and to play the important points well, which is required.”

Now, at 28 years old, he is the father of two children and, who knows, his family’s tennis legacy is assured. “I think it is inevitable that my children like tennis, watching and accompanying me on the circuit since they were born, but I am never going to motivate them to do anything, I will see what catches their attention the most. I will support them on the path they want to take.” Time will tell.