It is not every day the stars of the ATP Tour get to play tennis at the highest point on a continent, but that is what Denmark’s Holger Rune and Chilean Alejandro Tabilo did Monday evening in Santiago.
Rune and Tabilo, who are competing in this week’s Chile Dove Men+Care Open, visited the Sky Costanera, an observatory 300 metres in the air that marks the highest structure in South America. The pair played mini tennis while taking in the stunning view.
“I was here before, with my family, just to sight-see a little bit. Never thought I’d be playing a little bit of mini tennis here, so that’s always nice,” Tabilo said. “It shows a little bit of how beautiful Chile is. I don’t think many tournaments have the opportunity to do this, so I’m pretty grateful and it’s incredible for the tournament to organise this.”
The home crowd will fully support Tabilo, who begins his tournament Tuesday evening against Argentine qualifier Renzo Olivo. Tabilo, who owns a 2-2 record in Santiago, is playing the best tennis of his career. The lefty made his first ATP Tour final earlier this month in Cordoba.
“It’s pretty exciting. It’s been a lot of new experiences for me. Cordoba was a crazy ride. We didn’t expect it at all. It changes a little bit our perspective of what we can do, and coming in now to Santiago with this much confidence is always nice,” Tabilo said. “Hopefully I can play some solid tennis, get through that first round, and hopefully all the Chilean fans will support.”
Rune, who competed in last year’s Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, is also excited to be in Chile. One year ago, he made history in Santiago where as a 17-year-old qualifier he became the youngest ATP Tour quarter-finalist since Borna Coric in Umag in 2014.
“It’s a wonderful tournament and this year with the crowd it’s even better, so I just told myself and told my mum I want to go,” Rune said. “I’m so happy to be here and so excited to start tomorrow.”
The Danish star was outside the Top 400 in the ATP Rankings when he broke through in Santiago last year. Now at a career-high World No. 88, Rune is keen to continuing his ascent beginning with his first-round match against Brazilian qualifier Matheus Pucinelli De Almeida.
“I think it’s a wonderful city. Obviously, I haven’t explored so much yet, but now we are here with this amazing point of view, with this amazing mini tennis court. It’s just great for me, because when we play tournaments usually, we don’t get to visit so much,” Rune said. “I’m feeling great, I had one practice, I know the conditions and I’m just really excited to see how I can do this week.”
