LONDON – Nicolás Jarry carried his son Juan in his arms across Court 2 at the All England Club. Then he sat him down on the players’ chair and handed him the match point ball before stepping up to the microphone for the post-match interview.
He couldn’t finish answering the first question — he had to hold back tears.
“It’s been a year full of battles, so… it’s incredible,” said the Chilean emotionally, after defeating Brazil’s Joao Fonseca 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4). The crowd, already touched by the scene with his son, responded with warm applause.
Jarry reached the fourth round in London for the first time in his career, at the tournament where his grandfather Jaime Fillol once brought him as a child. From that moment on, Wimbledon became his favourite event.
“I play tennis because of my grandfather. He brought me here when I was ten, and I fell in love with this place. Every match I win here means staying a few more days, and that makes me really happy,” he told CLAY and AFP after the match.
Fillol, a former world No. 14 and one of the founders of the ATP, won three main draw matches before losing in four sets to Jimmy Connors in 1974.
Jarry grew up with his grandfather’s legacy ever-present, and 51 years after that family milestone in London, the 29-year-old Chilean is the one celebrating — with his wife Laura and their two sons by his side.
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His battles have been tough. Jarry has been fighting vestibular neuritis, an infection of the vestibular nerve in the inner ear that has impacted his balance, vision, and sense of perception. It has taken a psychological toll as well: “It was really hard to lose the skills I’ve worked on since I was five years old.”
He spoke in more detail about this struggle in a recent interview with CLAY: “I’ve had to work a lot on accepting what this condition has meant for my tennis career and personal life — the vision issues, the dizziness, the drop in motor function. I’m someone who does things properly and wants to reach the top of the game. Not being there yet is a challenge in itself that I’ve had to face.”
Jarry explained that without his family, the battle would have been completely different: “Without them, recovering the way I did would’ve been impossible.”
And although he’s not fully healed — new symptoms are still affecting his eyesight — he’s found an impressive rhythm at Wimbledon. With six consecutive wins (three in Roehampton and three at the All England Club), he’s earned the right to face local favourite Cameron Norrie on one of the show courts.
This Sunday, July 6, his goal will be to go one step further than his mentor and grandfather, Jaime Fillol.
