Tomás Martín Etcheverry, as it appears on his identity document and on the ATP website, is celebrating his third year in the world Top 100, in the midst of his search to recover the lost ranking, some 30 places from the one he occupied before the changes two seasons ago.
The return of Waly Grinóvero as his coach brought him a few steps closer to the baseline and returned aggressiveness to his blows, but also, in addition to a technical and tactical order, that of the calendar, which made him absent from the first Davis Cup series of the year against South Korea.
– Beginning of a new season and with Grinovero, once again, as coach. Do you take it as continuity, the second part of a series that has already started or is it a new beginning?
– Diría que es un nuevo comienzo.He knows me, I know him too and we added Kevin (Konfederak) to the team.We had a great learning experience during that year and a half that we were together, we understood the things we did wrong, so as not to repeat them.Esa es la realidad.We are doing well, the truth is that tennis improved a lot and I already feel like another player on the court, which was a bit of the goal we had.So I would say that’s the truth, a new beginning.
– You were seen playing like a couple of seasons ago, more about the base, being more forceful and commanding the game.Did you think about that style of play again?
– Yes, yes, one hundred percent.That’s my game, I have to build from there to forward.I am one meter ninety-five, I am clear that I must develop all these types of weapons and exploit that game, obviously, with variants.I think I have to transform my game into a complete game, a fairly versatile game, where I can get out of defensive situations and execute the attack correctly.
– Some say that you lack evil on the court.
– (Laughs) Do you know that?Yes, we are working a little on doing damage.We are working a little harder to bring out that bad side on the court.
– They lost against Korea in the Davis Cup, there were ten absences and for the Argentine tennis player it is a stone that fell into the water and is making waves.
– I am reading, obviously, many things, many opinions.The truth is that today it’s over, the series is over and we have to start thinking ahead.
– The idea of some is that someone should have sacrificed themselves
– And, it’s difficult.Each one had their reason why they didn’t go.
– Do you think that we should meet to coordinate efforts and that at least one of them should go into this type of situation?
– (He doesn’t seem very comfortable talking about the subject) Look, it’s like that, the entire team can go and you can lose… or you can win.It is not known what is going to happen, with Monday’s newspaper it is easy to give an opinion.I cannot speak for others, because I do not know what situation each one is in.Obviously, I can speak for myself.About me, the situation I had and was going through, I talked about it with Javi (Frana) and he understood it. The truth is, I understand it.And the fact that we haven’t been able to go, obviously, is a mistake that, as you said, is a stone in the way.Now, we’re going to have to win in September, no matter what.
– Due to so many absences, Thiago Tirante debuted in the Davis Cup and, in this way, the two players from La Plata already played in the National Team.You guys know each other, you train together and you have shared a lot.What feelings does it generate in you?
– Very cute!Above all, it made me very happy for him.Seeing him take the game forward the way he did was very important.Look, it’s not easy to put on the National Team shirt and represent your country the way he did.And for La Plata, who I think are the two best tennis players it has ever had, and for tennis in the city, especially for the kids who are there, for the little schools, for everyone, it is very important, especially for it to continue growing.La Plata has its own circuit for minors, pre-children, and children and that is very important to continue giving it a go.Also for people to start playing tennis.The truth is that Thiago is a friend and it makes me very happy for him, for the family he has and the effort he made during all these years, which have been something nice to live with him.
– You just mentioned that it is very difficult to wear the Argentine shirt.Is it so?Does it weigh on you when you play Davis Cup?
– In my case, no.I think I have improved it so much that it has even reached a point where I already do it naturally and I love it.For me it is the most beautiful competition, but yes, we know that there are players who have had a hard time and others who have not been able to play.There are also those who do better than others.It is a competition that requires a lot on a mental level and you have to be well prepared because it is not for everyone.
– Last year you restructured your team, did you set a goal for this season?
– Yeah!Let’s see, we didn’t focus more on the game.More than anything in rediscovering that game from a couple of seasons ago and from then on, because we know that it works for us.
– Did they say, “we have to go this way, without looking at the calendar” or are they trying not to play so much and take into account the rest periods?
– I am a boy who likes to play, play and play, and sometimes I don’t really understand the importance of stopping, resting, being here, with family, recovering energy, going out again.Waly (Grinovero) does this very well, he is very clear about it, and he puts together the calendar very well.
– Are you a player with a lot of physical wear and tear in each game?Did you lose a lot of weight?Because there are tennis players who suffer a lot from the wear and tear of a match.
– I give a lot of importance, obviously, to being well prepared in that aspect, too, and that’s where the nutritionist’s part also comes in.He does his part very well and gives me instructions regarding hydration, the issue of meals, portions and when to do each thing, precisely so that these things do not happen to me.It is true that if you play four, five weeks in a row, with a lot of games, wear and tear is natural and you begin to feel, somewhere, that you lack strength or that you have to put in a week of loading stimulus.That’s why good tennis players and, above all, those who are high up play you for two to three weeks and stop.They get back in tune and go out again.That, I think, is very important.But, obviously, all this depends on each player and how you come.Playing two or three games a week is not the same as losing several first rounds and staying training, so it is very personal.But, yes, the wear and tear can be noticed.
– Is the goal for this year to be in the top 30 again, to pass that barrier and try to get into the top 20?
– And yes, I want to overcome that barrier, I don’t want to stay at 30. But, to overcome that barrier, you have to go back there, in the first instance, and then go up.But, above all, improve tennis.Tennis is what needs to be improved, it is the only way for that to happen and to win tournaments.
– To set a date, before your return with Grinóvero, last year you played a challenger in Cap Cana (Dominican Republic), before going to Miami and you suffered.Do you feel that this year you are going to arrive more armed?
– (Lo recuerda y sonría) Sí, me acuerdo que en ese torneo me tocó (Jakub) Mensikcomo rival y a la semana siguiente ganó el Masters 1000 de Miami.A crazy thing!And in Indian Wells I had also played the Czech, two weeks in a row I played with him.But hey, I hope it can arrive differently.The truth is, last year I suffered through that whole period.
– You have two clay court tours and a cement sandwich in March, where do you think you can develop your best tennis and where to get the most points?
– It was always the dust (he says it with great confidence).I’m going to lean towards the powder, obviously.It is true that my evolution in cement is clear and I feel very good, but I still need to make a big splash.In other words, getting about 400 points, I haven’t gotten that amount of points yet in a hard court tournament, although I have in several combined.For that, I need to finish confirming the level and confidence on that surface.But it will come, I have no doubt about that, but hey, I think we have to focus on the powder turn that is natural.
His coach accompanies the expectations of the La Plata tennis player, although for him, his future lies in hard court tournaments.
