After being left out of the 2024 Paris Olympics due to his ranking, Cristian Garin confessed his regret for having said no to Tokyo 2020, an event for which he did qualify: “Now that time has passed, I regret not having gone.”
The Chilean, currently ranked 104th in the ATP, had set himself the main objective of qualifying for the Olympic Games in France. “I have had a hard time because I wanted to be there. I have had difficult moments with my physical condition and mood swings because I couldn’t compete the way I wanted to, and obviously that has consequences, like not being in Paris. I try to keep moving forward, to keep working,” he said. CLAY during an interview that took place during the qualifiers for Wimbledon 2024.
He also expressed his anger at the International Tennis Federation for taking the Group C Davis Cup Finals to Zhuhai, China. “It’s a disaster. The truth is that for a long time I have felt that the Davis Cup has lost what it had. I have played thousands of tournaments in China and there is never anyone in the stands. There will be no spectators. The Davis Cup has always been a very emotional competition, and now playing in China… a lack of identity,” said Cristian Garín, who will represent the Chilean national team in Asia in September. They will play against Germany, the United States and Slovakia.
Interview with Cristian Garin
– You had a very bad time in South America, where you said you could lose to anyone. Then you played a couple of semi-finals in Europe and then you got through the qualifying round and played at Wimbledon. How do you feel now?
– In London I was relieved to have overcome a tough qualifying phase. But what I am most happy about is that I am physically fine after several months. I think that little by little I am returning to the level I had a year and a half ago before the injuries. I know that I have had good and bad results, I have not managed to be stable, but I am calm because I have worked very hard and my confidence has increased.
– At Wimbledon you probably had the best performance of your career (quarter-finals in 2022), you are a member of the Round of 16 Club. You have returned to a place where you were happy, what does this place mean for your career?
– Wimbledon is my favourite tournament. I have played very well there too, but I have always felt special, even when I have not had good results, because it is a tournament that values tennis players 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 that quarter-final you lost to Nick Kyrgios in 2022? Because after that Rafael Nadal announced he was withdrawing from the semi-finals. You actually played for a place in the final.
– Yes, I think so, but I think Kyrgios was better in that match, I just had a few chances. He played better and that’s when my wrist injury started. Then I played with a sprain in my hand. I can’t hold back, I didn’t see myself with any 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 for a long time I have had the feeling that the Davis Cup has lost what it had. The times we have played in Chile we have done so in a full stadium and with an incredible atmosphere. That has made us favourites, the stadium, the people playing 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 for going there, it must be an economic reason. The Davis Cup has always been a very emotional competition I think, and now playing in China… a lack of identity.
– Do people notice that you were ranked 17th in the world, that you won an ATP 500, that you were a quarter-finalist in a Grand Slam? Do you feel recognised?
– In my country? Yes, obviously there are people who value what I have done, coming from a country where the federation practically does not exist, and tennis players emerge purely through family efforts. There are people who do not respect you and insult you, criticize you, and do not know your real problems, but I try to keep the positive, the good vibes, and I am happy with that. Now that I am a little older I realize how difficult it is to get to the place I got to. I was at the top, now that I had to go down I see other realities. Sometimes the treatment that tournaments give to players is not good, and I have had to live that part lately.
– Have you been treated badly on the Challenger Tour?
– There are tournaments where you are treated badly. The week before the Wimbledon qualifiers I played a Challenger on grass (Ilkley) where you couldn’t train normally. I could only 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, nobody cares anymore. It’s not that (the Challenger tour) is bad, it’s not that they treat you badly, but there are certain tournaments where they 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, be in good shape, and sometimes it gets complicated.
– How does it feel not to have qualified for Paris 2024?
– It’s very hard. 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. Sport is like that. I’ve had difficult moments with my body and mood swings because I couldn’t compete the way I want to, and obviously that has consequences, like not being in Paris. I try to keep going, to keep working.
– Three years ago you qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, but decided to retire. 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, COVID tests every day… I didn’t feel well. I was with Franco (Davin) at the time and he told me that my energy wasn’t good. It was a difficult tournament, more than half of the draw fell. 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. Tennis players have to make many decisions and some go wrong. I regret it, but it doesn’t bother me that much. I accept the consequences and move on.
– There will be an opportunity in Los Angeles 2028.
– Yes, I hope so. I will be 32 years old. I hope to be able to play.
– What is it like working with your coach and friend Gonzalo Lama? Do you have good chemistry?
– Yes, we have been working hard since March despite having a lot of pain and not being physically well. The beginning was very difficult, we were defending many points, and even so we have progressed and done well, we have achieved results, but the problem has not been tennis, it has been physical. I don’t talk much about what is happening 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 didn’t make the cut at Roland Garros and lost in the qualifying after having played good tournaments in the clay season, but we still want to. We’ve known each other for many years and that’s why he knows how to get along with me.
– You are working hard to improve physically, but what about the mental factor? Have you made any psychological changes?
– I think it goes 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 that has been an issue that I have been managing better, and I am older, I have lived many seasons on the tour. Obviously I know that I can improve, but I think that technically, physically and mentally I have done a good job in general.
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