After being left out of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games due to his ranking, Cristian Garin confessed his regret for having said no to Tokyo 2020, an event to which he did qualify: “Now that time has passed I regret not having gone”.
The Chilean, currently 104th in the ATP, had set as a major goal to qualify for the Olympic event in France. “I’ve had a hard time because I wanted to be there. I’ve had some difficult moments with my physical condition and mood swings for not being able to compete the way I want to, and obviously that has consequences, like not being in Paris. I try to keep going, keep working,” he told CLAY during an interview that took place in the qualifiers for Wimbledon 2024.
He also expressed his annoyance with the International Tennis Federation for taking the Davis Cup Finals Group C to Zhuhai, China. “It’s a disaster. The truth is that I have long felt that Davis Cup lost what it had. I’ve played thousands of tournaments in China and there’s never anyone there in the stands. There will be no spectators. Davis Cup has always been a very emotional competition, and now playing in China… a lack of identity,” said Cristian Garin, who will represent the Chilean team in Asia in September. They will play against Germany, the United States and Slovakia.
Interview with Cristian Garin
– You had a very bad moment in South America, where you said you could lose to anyone. Then you played a couple of semifinals in Europe and later you passed the qualifiers and played at Wimbledon. How do you feel now?
– In London I was relieved to get through a tough qualy. Although what makes me happier is that I am physically healthy after several months. I think I’m slowly getting back to the level I had a year and a half ago before the injuries. I know I have had good and bad results, I have not been able to be stable, but I am calm because I have worked very hard and my confidence has increased.
– At Wimbledon you achieved probably the best performance of your career (quarter finals in 2022), you are a member of the Last Eight Club. You came back to a place where you were happy, what does this site mean in your career?
– Wimbledon is my favorite tournament. I’ve played vert well too, but always, even when I did not have good results, I felt special because it is a tournament that values the tennis player a lot. The treatment is very good, the people who go know a lot about tennis, the courts are incredible, it is a tournament that I like a lot and I enjoy it on and off the court.
– Do you think a lot about those quarterfinals you lost against Nick Kyrgios in 2022? Because afterwards Rafael Nadal announced that he was dropping out of the semis. You actually played for the passage to the final.
– Yes, I think so, but I think Kyrgios was better in that match, I only had few chances. He played better and that’s when my wrist injury started. Then I played with a sprained hand. I don’t hold back, I didn’t see myself with real chances in that match.
– What do you think about the Davis Cup being played in China without the local team there?
– It’s a disaster. The truth is that I have been feeling for a long time that the Davis Cup has lost what it had. The times we have played in Chile we do it with a full stadium and an incredible atmosphere. That have made us favourites, the stadium, the people play for us. I feel that I will never be able to play the World Group in my own country or region. Now they take us to China… I have played thousands of tournaments in China and there is never anyone there watching. There will be no spectators. I don’t know what the reason is to go there, it must be an economic reason. Davis Cup has always been a very emotional competition I think, and now playing in China… a lack of identity.
– Do people realize that you were 17th in the world, that you won an ATP 500, that you were quarterfinalist at a Grand Slam? Do you feel recognized?
– In my country? Yes, obviously there are people who value a lot what I have done, coming from a country where the federation practically doesn’t exist, and tennis players emerge pure because of the family efforts. There are people who don’t respect and insult you, criticize you, and don’t know about your real problems, but I try to keep the positive, the good vibes, and I’m happy with that. Now that I’m a little older I realize how difficult it is to get to the spot that I reached. I was at the top, now that it was my turn to go down I see other realities. Sometimes the way the tournaments treat the players is not good, and I have had to live that part lately.
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– Have you been treated badly in the Challenger Tour?
– There are tournaments where they treat you badly. The week before the Wimbledon qualy I played a Challenger on grass (Ilkley) where you couldn’t train normally. I was only able to warm up half an hour before my match, and I played the match on a court that was full of mud. I fell twice, I could have broken my foot, and nobody cares. It’s not that (the Challenger tour) is bad, it’s not that they treat you badly, but there are certain tournaments that don’t care about the player. They want to finish the tournament and that’s it. And that’s difficult because you try to work well, to be in good shape, and sometimes it gets complicated.
– How does it feel not to have qualified for Paris 2024?
– It is very tough. It was an important goal I had, I’m not going to lie to you. I was very disappointed and I still am. I had a hard time because I wanted to be there. That’s how sport is. I’ve had some difficult moments with my body and mood swings for not being able to compete as I want to, and obviously that has consequences, like not being in Paris. I try to keep going, keep working.
– You qualified for the Olympics in Tokyo three years ago, but decided to withdraw. Why did you make that decision?
– Tokyo was difficult, I feel that now that time has passed I regret not having gone. But it was a very difficult time, people who know me know that it was very difficult for me to travel, every day COVID tests… I was not feeling well. I was with Franco (Davín) at that time and he told me that my energy was not good. It was a difficult tournament, more than half of the field dropped. Obviously it was in the middle of the pandemic. There were many reasons. I also got COVID, many things happened. Now I regret not having gone, but we make mistakes. The tennis player has to make many decisions and some go wrong. I regret it, but it doesn’t bother me that much. I take the consequences and move on.
– There will be a chance in Los Angeles 2028.
– Yes, I hope so. I’m going to be 32 years old. I hope to play.
– How is working with your coach and friend Gonzalo Lama? Do you have good chemistry?
– Yes, we have been working a lot since March despite having a lot of pain and not being physically well. The beginning was very difficult, we were defending a lot of points, and even so we have been progressing and doing well, we have achieved results, but the problem has not been tennis, it has been physical. I don’t tell much what happens to me, I got sick twice too. I focused on physical preparation and it went well.
– What is different between Lama and all the coaches you have worked with in the past?
– I don’t like to compare, but I really like that Gonzalo knows me. It wasn’t easy when I missed the cut in Roland Garros and lost in the qualy after having played good tournaments on the clay season, but we are still looking forward to it. We’ve known each other for many years and that’s why he knows how to take me in a good way.
– You are working hard to improve physically, what about the mental factor, have you made any psychological changes?
– I think it goes a little bit hand in hand because when you feel good physically, then I trust myself more. Yes, obviously you have to work on the mental part, because sometimes I am very anxious. I think it has been an issue that I have been managing better, I’m also older, I’ve experienced many seasons in the tour. Obviously I know I can improve, but I think that technically, physically and mentally I have done a good job in general.
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