April 22, 2025 • 22 mins
In this episode, I’m joined by rising Argentine star Francisco Comesaña, currently sitting inside the ATP top 70. Francisco shares the grind of coming up through Futures with no funding, how a mindset shift helped him break through, and what it was like beating top names like Rublev and Zverev. We also talk about his first Slam experience at Wimbledon, what it’s like playing on grass for the first time, and why belief, fueled by hard work has been the key to his rise.
✅ 5 Takeaway Points
1. Breaking through in Argentina is tough without sponsors or early exposure.
2. Belief and mindset are often more important than talent.
3. Playing Futures is a grind that can break many players mentally.
4. Big wins against players like Rublev and Zverev gave him confidence he belongs.
5. Long-term goals include becoming a better person first, and reaching the top 30.
🗣️ 3 Key Quotes
1. “The most important thing was that I started to believe in myself.”
2. “Sometimes players are stuck because of mindset, not level.”
3. “Since I was a kid, I dreamed of playing in Grand Slams.”
This podcast is sponsored by ASICS. ASICS is a Japanese company founded in 1949 to give more people the opportunity to experience how sports and movement can have a positive impact on mental well-being.
To learn more about ASICS visit their website here: https://www.asics.com/nl/en-nl/sports/tennis/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:25):
Welcome to the FunctionalTennis Podcast. I'm your host, Fabio
Molle and I bring you insightsand lessons from players, coaches,
parents and experts who areingrained in the world of high level
tennis. Today's high levelplayer is Argentine 24 year old and
current ATP number 61,Francisco K. Francisco has had a
(00:48):
steady rise up the rankingssince his first futures at 15 and
recently he's had some bigwins. Beaten Zerev, Hubert, Rublev
and more. He discusses whatchange assisted him in breaking into
the top hundred. Also makingthe third round of Wimbledon at his
first ever slam and only hissecond time playing on grass. He
(01:09):
discussed his coach playingtennis in Argentina as a young junior.
And I had to begin the chattalking about the cigarette changeover
controversy from a few weeksback. Before we start a shout out
to our podcast partners asics.Recently they teamed up with lifestyle
brand APC for an exclusivecollection for the clay court season.
(01:29):
I'm lucky to have a few of thepieces. Absolutely love it. We also
gave away a pair of ASICs xAPC resolution x recently. Everybody
wanted them. Check out thecollection@asics.com okay, here's
Francisco. Francisco, welcometo the Functional Tennis Podcast.
How are you?
I'm very good, thank you. Oh,very happy to be here.
(01:51):
Oh, great. You say you're inPortugal challenger this week?
Yes, I'm going to play 125challenger this week. Oiras, Portugal.
Yes.
Nice, nice. And I want tostart this conversation off, but
you probably know what I'mgoing to say, but the famous cigarette
video. Tell me what wentthrough your mind. You're obviously
(02:12):
a smoker. Tell me all about it.
No, no, of course I didn'tsmoke. I don't know why people are
saying that, that I smoke,that I asked for a chair and fire
for a light. Nothing happened.I was just taking a salt pill. People
was, was saying that I wassmoking during the match, but I didn't.
(02:32):
You know, tennis needs somebad boys. I thought you were the
man. I thought you werebringing back like those 70 vibes.
No, no, I'm very healthy. Ofcourse I'm very healthy.
You know, those 70s SouthAmerican, you know, badass vibes.
I thought, this guy haslanded. But no, that's interesting.
You've had, you know, you're25 now. Your progression has been
(02:55):
quite steady, which issometimes we get carried away when
we see the sinners and thealcaraz where they break through
at 18, 19. But that onlyhappens very rare.
Now he's going Fonsega.
Now Fonseca. Yeah. But youmight get one every two years, one
every three years. It's sorare. You know, you've had good progression.
You're now in the top hundred.You get into better tournaments.
(03:18):
What changed in your game, doyou feel, to allow you to break into
the top hundred?
Yeah, two years ago, Ichanged. My coach now is Sebastian
Gues. I'm sharing the coachwith Baez. Do you know that?
I know now.
Ah, okay, okay. We are, weare, we are sharing the, the coach,
(03:39):
he helps me a lot with myconfidence. I improve a lot. My game
in my, my forehand, mybackhand serve. The most important
thing was that I started tobelieve in myself, that I can won
big, big matches, play bigtournaments. That's my dream.
Like, obviously you've beatenRublev, Humber, Jared Zerev. They're
(04:03):
all serious names. Like, andyou were probably, you know, you
were close to 100. Justoutside or just inside beaten those.
But how has a coach given youbelief? What does he say to you to
make. Allow you to believe?
I think it's because I haveall the hard work that I have done
in the past two years. I know.I feel like I'm ready to, to play
(04:27):
big matches. And of course,when you are close to the match,
you start to feel nerves.That's why Guti said to me that I
had to believe in myselfbecause I work very hard to be, to
be here.
So the belief comes from thehard work you put in?
Yes, many, many, many hours.
Yeah, I'm sure thousands andthousands, tens of thousands. If
(04:50):
you go back to the early days,and let's go back to the early days
in Argentina, we rarely knowwhat it's like for, you know, we
hear all these Europeanjuniors, American juniors, maybe
Australian, but I've neverreally heard much about South America
and Argentinian junior growingup. What's it like being a young
tennis player in Argentina?
It was difficult to me. Ididn't receive much help with money.
(05:15):
I was trying to in thebeginning. When I, When I started
playing Futures, I wastraveling all alone because I couldn't
pay for a, For a coach. Butyou are talking younger, Even younger.
Yeah, we'll get to the future.Even younger. Like what. What's the
(05:36):
tennis system like inArgentina for juniors?
Very difficult for us becausewe are very far away from, from Europe.
The European guys I know theystarted competing internationally
when they are 11. They havevery big tournaments, very big sponsors.
(05:57):
We don't have much sponsorsthere in Argentina, so it's more
difficult for us. That's whywe don't have like, people like senior.
Alcaraz Fonseca is one of thebest South American young guys. But
(06:17):
when you, you see a SouthAmerican break into the top 100,
it's after the 20 years, 21,22, 23 is more difficult to, to us,
I think it's because we arevery far away and we don't have a
much money.
(06:38):
That is a good point you make.You guys do break through. You're
great players, but you breakthrough a few years later. That's,
that's actually interesting.Hadn't thought you'd have Del Potro.
Yeah, we had, we had.
Now your fun stage. It's notso bad. There's something working
down there. Who did you lookup to as a young player? Who was
your hero?
I remember watching GuichermoGoria, Davin Nalbandian. They were
(07:02):
amazing. They play very, veryeasy. Dennis.
Yeah. Now Bandian as well.Like, I think the list is pretty
big for Argentinian tennis.
Yeah.
So you have a lot ofinspiration from those guys, which
helps as well.
Yes. Under Potro, of course,Sharma in the, in the last years.
And you had GabrielleSabatini. She was Argentinian. Was
(07:25):
she?
She was Argentinian, yeah. And then.
Yeah, there's plenty there. Soit was more difficult for you when
you start playing, obviously.When did you start playing futures?
Actually, I got my first ADPpoint when I was 17 in Argentina
and I started playing thefutures when I was 15.
(07:46):
And education wise, were youin school at this stage or did you
stop going to school?
Oh, I, I didn't finish school.I started to study online when I
was 13 and I was trying topractice twice a day. I was, I was
very, very young. I know. Andthen it was difficult to me because
(08:10):
I moved. I'm from Mara Plata,I was living there and then I moved
to Buenos Aires when I was 16and it was very difficult to me because
I, I didn't have a teacher orsomething like that. It was very
difficult for me to studybecause I was, I was alone and I
(08:31):
was very young, so I didn'tfinish school. It's something that
I have to finish once in my,in my life.
Do you think you finish it?
No, I don't know. I don'tknow. Now probably when I retire
from tennis.
Let's see how the tennis goes.Let's see. You don't have to make
that decision yet. But likewhat. How many years futures did
(08:55):
you play before you wereregular in the Challenger Tour?
The last future that I played was.
2023, five, six years of futures.
Yes.
Two years of challengersbefore you get a master row.
Yeah, I played five yearsFutures, but I was mixing a challenger
and Future. The on 2021, 2022and 2023. Yeah. Five years futures.
(09:23):
And in 2021 I started to playsome challengers.
Okay. And slowly the beliefsstart coming up. What's for you is
the difference between aFutures player and a challenger player?
I was talking about, aboutthat with my coach, with Sebastian
Dela. Three days ago we werein Monte Carlo practicing. The course
(09:45):
were perfect. We had, we hadnew balls. Everything looks very,
very good. I was thinking, ohmy God, when we were playing futures,
the courts are not the best.You don't have new balls. It is very
difficult to, to pass thefuture. It's very difficult.
(10:09):
But okay, they're excuses.When you're a Futures player, the
courts aren't good enough.It's too windy. They don't give me
balls. They're excuses. Butwhat allows you as a player or what
allows a player to breakthrough the Futures level? Why did
you break through and why isthere some guy stuck at 9, 8, 700
(10:30):
and just can't get through? Isthe amount of work they've put in.
Is it working with the rightpeople? If there's one thing that
stands out to you that you'veseen, okay, all these guys have broken
true futures. What's thecommon denominator?
Sometimes it's because you arevery talented and you, you pass the
level. Very easy for me wasdifficult because I was 700 in the
(10:53):
world and I was. I don't knowif I will, if I'm ready to, to pass
the level. I think I did, Idid a mental change and I started
to work very, very hard. But Ithink it was more the mental change.
Okay, so you started workingharder though. So you obviously weren't
working hard enough. You sawwhat the top guys were working. You're
(11:17):
like, I need to work harder here.
Harder.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look, it'sreally interesting because I'm sure
there's players out there whowork really hard and still can't
break through.
Yeah, I see a lot of playersthat they are in the top 800, 700.
I see them and I said, oh myGod, they played very good, but I
(11:39):
don't know what happened tothem. Why, why they, they cannot
pass that level.
Do you have more fire thanthem? Is it just the engine? The
fire burns more for you? Itcould be things like that. Did you
ever think of quitting duringthose Years playing Futures?
No, but I remember when it was15, once I thought to quit the sport.
(12:00):
But I. I can leave this sport.I love it. Since I started playing
tennis, for me, always, Iwanted to play Grand Slams, to play
in front of a lot of people.Now I'm here because I think I. I
passed that level when I was 15.
Were your parents involved inyour tennis? What sort of involvement?
(12:22):
Have they taken part in your progression?
Oh, they always give meeverything. It was difficult for
them because it's veryexpensive. It's a very expensive
sport. I didn't have thesupport with money. So, yeah, they
want me to be happy. Theydon't want me to suffer into the
(12:44):
court, but they know that Ilove this sport, and I wanted to
do everything that I could.
What was it like stepping outinto your first Slam at Wimbledon?
Yeah, that was difficult. Iremember when I was. I was stretching,
preparing for a practice. Youcould see in the. On the TVs, they
(13:08):
were. They were doing thedraw, the main draw. So I started
to watch when I saw Rublev.Then it comes when I say, oh, I'm
going to play ruble. So I'mgoing to play in a big court in grass.
(13:31):
It was my second tournament ingrass. The first one was the week
before. That was my first timethat I play on grass. I never play
on grass until that moment. Itwas very challenging. I talked with
Guti, and he said that I haveto be focused on day by day, not
(13:55):
to think in the future, justday by day. Of course, when they
called the match, I felt verycalm. I didn't feel nervous in that
moment. I was enjoying everytime, every practice, even the. The
walk into the court. It wasvery. It was an amazing match. I
(14:18):
remember that.
Yeah, you must be. You. Youbeat Rube Lev, so you must have been.
You handled the situationquite well. You must be like, I am
made for this. I am made. Whatcourt were you on?
Two. Number two.
Okay, good court. That's anice court. And so you. You take
down Rublev. This is like, oh,my God. Then you've Adam Walton in
the next round. Adam's tophundred player. I'm not sure if he's
(14:40):
ranking now, but he would haveplayed a lot on grass, I'm sure.
Come from Australia.
Yeah. But it was a goodopportunity for both of us.
Yeah, probably. Yeah, definitely.
We were the lower ranking inthat draw, both of us.
It's like when you get anotherqualifier in the draw, you're like,
you know, it's an opportunityfor somebody. So you you take down
(15:03):
Walton, you must be feelinggreat at this stage. You're like,
I. Where was grass been all my life?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And now I'mwaiting for grass.
Yeah. And so Musetti, how wasthat then?
Yeah, I remember I, I had oneset point to be choose sets to one
(15:24):
up, but I missed the, thereturn. And then he started to play
better. But I remember wesuspended the match two or three
times because of the rain. Itwas difficult. I started to feel
very tired after the secondtime we stopped playing. I thought
(15:49):
that Musetti was a very funnymatch because he used to slice a
lot, and me too. It was afunny match.
It's a good m. Okay, well,look, it was a great start to grass.
Since then, you've beaten. Isaid uber, Jerry. Like, what was
it like? Be in Zerev and Riothis year.
Wow. I was, I was nervous inthe beginning of that match, but
(16:12):
then I started to feel that I,I can play, that I can serve and
try to, to drop the, to dosome drop shots, to go to the net
because he, he plays like veryin the back of the court. I was lucky,
I have to say, because he wasfor 41 up in the third. When you
(16:33):
are 41 down with Swearer, you,you, you don't have many chances
to win that match. But Iremember he served four three new
balls. And I played an amazinggame. And then I was like, okay,
I can win this.
And you did.
I did.
And what a run to the semifinals. Then. What was the crowd
(16:54):
like? Like South America,obviously. The crowds are really
intense and fiery and it's.I've never been, Sorry, I've been
there, but I've never been ata tournament there. It must be like,
you know, a South American plane.
Well, yeah, of course I wantedto do that result in Argentina because
it's. We all want to play goodin Argentina. It was in Brazil. It
(17:16):
was close to Argentina. Ofcourse, the South American crowd
is, Is one of the best. So Ienjoyed a lot the, the crowd in that
tournament. But I, I rememberthat I played in first round with
Hayde. He's from Brazil, andnobody was cheering for me, so it
was kind of difficult. That much.
Yeah, I'm sure it is. When,when they're fighting again, when
(17:38):
they're cheering again, I canonly imagine. But from, from playing
all, from beating all thesegreat players, what's the one lesson
you've learned?
That I'm ready. That I'm readyto, to play big matches, to be into
the top 30. I don't know, Iwould like to be into the top 30
to top 20. So that helps mewith the. With my confidence.
(18:03):
What's the goal for 20, 25once the season ends? What would
make you happy this year? Ifyou. What's your target? That you
could say, okay, I've hadyear. So if I check in with you in
December and you. You can say,okay, well, this, what Francisco
said. He did it. Good job,Francisco. What's. What would make
you happy A realistic targetfor you?
(18:24):
Okay, first I want to. Toimprove as a person. Then, then tennis.
First, I, I want to prove asa. As a person. Then, of course,
I'm, I'm enjoying every, Everytournament this year. I'm working
very hard. Let's see what's.What's happened. But of course, if
I have to put some goals, itwill be maybe second week of some
(18:53):
Grand Slams. Let's see if Ican finish the year into the top
40.
Second week of a slam and afew good tournaments. You're not
far off there. Yeah, okay, I.I will. I'll check in later in the
year. Maybe in a few weeks.I'll be checking in French Open.
But just a few more questions.Who's the boss? You are. Guto.
(19:18):
No, he's the boss. He's theboss. Of course he's the boss.
Okay, I have to check. I haveto check that. Would you rather win
a slam or be world number one?
Wow. Tough question. SometimesI say be number one. Sometimes I
say win a Grand Slam, but Ihave to pick now. I would say to
(19:44):
be number one.
Okay, so Marcelo Rios.
Yeah. Yeah, it will be Marcelo.
Yeah, that's good. And if youcould change one thing in tennis,
what would it be?
Nothing. I would. I would say nothing.
You're happy with tennis?
Yeah, I'm very happy. I. I cansay we can play with one serve, but
(20:08):
the serve gives me a lot ofpoints, so. Not the serve, probably
the net. If her serve hit the.Hit the. Yeah, the lead.
That's it. It's good in juniortennis. I. I quite like it in junior
tennis. I think it's good. Andit speeds up the game as well. If.
If you weren't a tennisplayer, what would you be doing?
Yeah, probably footballplayer. I used to play football before
(20:30):
Jenny.
Yeah. Argentina has some goodtennis players. Or some football
players.
Football players.
Yeah, some great ones. If youcould steal one shot from any player
to add to your game, whatwould it be? Whose shot would you
steal?
I really like Alcaraz dropshot. And then I. I remember the
(20:53):
Nalbanian's backhand.
You can only have one there.Don't get greedy.
Okay, okay, okay. Albanian'sbackhand and the Bodro's forehand.
No, Come on, come on. That'simpossible. Impossible. No. You know
what, Francisco? I don't thinkwe've ever posted one of your videos
on functional tennis. Do youknow that? No, I. I don't think.
(21:16):
I don't think so, no. Which isquite straight. You know, normally
we get. We try and geteverybody. I can't see any, so that
has to change. So I'm gonna check.
I'm gonna. Okay, okay. I'mgonna. I'm gonna see if I have some
videos in my. In my phone, andI will. Yeah, I will send them.
Yeah, some pr. I'll send you alink. So, yeah, we get some up there.
But thanks a lot. Enjoyedchatting to you and best of luck
(21:39):
in Portugal and the clay courtswing coming up. I will see you in
Roland Garos.
Okay, See you in Roland Garosand then Wimbledon.
Yes. Yeah, of course. Ofcourse. You've points to defend now.
Come on. Yeah.
Welcome to the FunctionalTennis Podcast. I'm your host, Fabio
Molle and I bring you insightsand lessons from players, coaches,
parents and experts who areingrained in the world of high level
tennis. Today's high levelplayer is Argentine 24 year old and
current ATP number 61,Francisco K. Francisco has had a
(00:48):
steady rise up the rankingssince his first futures at 15 and
recently he's had some bigwins. Beaten Zerev, Hubert, Rublev
and more. He discusses whatchange assisted him in breaking into
the top hundred. Also makingthe third round of Wimbledon at his
first ever slam and only hissecond time playing on grass. He
(01:09):
discussed his coach playingtennis in Argentina as a young junior.
And I had to begin the chattalking about the cigarette changeover
controversy from a few weeksback. Before we start a shout out
to our podcast partners asics.Recently they teamed up with lifestyle
brand APC for an exclusivecollection for the clay court season.
(01:29):
I'm lucky to have a few of thepieces. Absolutely love it. We also
gave away a pair of ASICs xAPC resolution x recently. Everybody
wanted them. Check out thecollection@asics.com okay, here's
Francisco. Francisco, welcometo the Functional Tennis Podcast.
How are you?
I'm very good, thank you. Oh,very happy to be here.
(01:51):
Oh, great. You say you're inPortugal challenger this week?
Yes, I'm going to play 125challenger this week. Oiras, Portugal.
Yes.
Nice, nice. And I want tostart this conversation off, but
you probably know what I'mgoing to say, but the famous cigarette
video. Tell me what wentthrough your mind. You're obviously
(02:12):
a smoker. Tell me all about it.
No, no, of course I didn'tsmoke. I don't know why people are
saying that, that I smoke,that I asked for a chair and fire
for a light. Nothing happened.I was just taking a salt pill. People
was, was saying that I wassmoking during the match, but I didn't.
(02:32):
You know, tennis needs somebad boys. I thought you were the
man. I thought you werebringing back like those 70 vibes.
No, no, I'm very healthy. Ofcourse I'm very healthy.
You know, those 70s SouthAmerican, you know, badass vibes.
I thought, this guy haslanded. But no, that's interesting.
You've had, you know, you're25 now. Your progression has been
(02:55):
quite steady, which issometimes we get carried away when
we see the sinners and thealcaraz where they break through
at 18, 19. But that onlyhappens very rare.
Now he's going Fonsega.
Now Fonseca. Yeah. But youmight get one every two years, one
every three years. It's sorare. You know, you've had good progression.
You're now in the top hundred.You get into better tournaments.
(03:18):
What changed in your game, doyou feel, to allow you to break into
the top hundred?
Yeah, two years ago, Ichanged. My coach now is Sebastian
Gues. I'm sharing the coachwith Baez. Do you know that?
I know now.
Ah, okay, okay. We are, weare, we are sharing the, the coach,
(03:39):
he helps me a lot with myconfidence. I improve a lot. My game
in my, my forehand, mybackhand serve. The most important
thing was that I started tobelieve in myself, that I can won
big, big matches, play bigtournaments. That's my dream.
Like, obviously you've beatenRublev, Humber, Jared Zerev. They're
(04:03):
all serious names. Like, andyou were probably, you know, you
were close to 100. Justoutside or just inside beaten those.
But how has a coach given youbelief? What does he say to you to
make. Allow you to believe?
I think it's because I haveall the hard work that I have done
in the past two years. I know.I feel like I'm ready to, to play
(04:27):
big matches. And of course,when you are close to the match,
you start to feel nerves.That's why Guti said to me that I
had to believe in myselfbecause I work very hard to be, to
be here.
So the belief comes from thehard work you put in?
Yes, many, many, many hours.
Yeah, I'm sure thousands andthousands, tens of thousands. If
(04:50):
you go back to the early days,and let's go back to the early days
in Argentina, we rarely knowwhat it's like for, you know, we
hear all these Europeanjuniors, American juniors, maybe
Australian, but I've neverreally heard much about South America
and Argentinian junior growingup. What's it like being a young
tennis player in Argentina?
It was difficult to me. Ididn't receive much help with money.
(05:15):
I was trying to in thebeginning. When I, When I started
playing Futures, I wastraveling all alone because I couldn't
pay for a, For a coach. Butyou are talking younger, Even younger.
Yeah, we'll get to the future.Even younger. Like what. What's the
(05:36):
tennis system like inArgentina for juniors?
Very difficult for us becausewe are very far away from, from Europe.
The European guys I know theystarted competing internationally
when they are 11. They havevery big tournaments, very big sponsors.
(05:57):
We don't have much sponsorsthere in Argentina, so it's more
difficult for us. That's whywe don't have like, people like senior.
Alcaraz Fonseca is one of thebest South American young guys. But
(06:17):
when you, you see a SouthAmerican break into the top 100,
it's after the 20 years, 21,22, 23 is more difficult to, to us,
I think it's because we arevery far away and we don't have a
much money.
(06:38):
That is a good point you make.You guys do break through. You're
great players, but you breakthrough a few years later. That's,
that's actually interesting.Hadn't thought you'd have Del Potro.
Yeah, we had, we had.
Now your fun stage. It's notso bad. There's something working
down there. Who did you lookup to as a young player? Who was
your hero?
I remember watching GuichermoGoria, Davin Nalbandian. They were
(07:02):
amazing. They play very, veryeasy. Dennis.
Yeah. Now Bandian as well.Like, I think the list is pretty
big for Argentinian tennis.
Yeah.
So you have a lot ofinspiration from those guys, which
helps as well.
Yes. Under Potro, of course,Sharma in the, in the last years.
And you had GabrielleSabatini. She was Argentinian. Was
(07:25):
she?
She was Argentinian, yeah. And then.
Yeah, there's plenty there. Soit was more difficult for you when
you start playing, obviously.When did you start playing futures?
Actually, I got my first ADPpoint when I was 17 in Argentina
and I started playing thefutures when I was 15.
(07:46):
And education wise, were youin school at this stage or did you
stop going to school?
Oh, I, I didn't finish school.I started to study online when I
was 13 and I was trying topractice twice a day. I was, I was
very, very young. I know. Andthen it was difficult to me because
(08:10):
I moved. I'm from Mara Plata,I was living there and then I moved
to Buenos Aires when I was 16and it was very difficult to me because
I, I didn't have a teacher orsomething like that. It was very
difficult for me to studybecause I was, I was alone and I
(08:31):
was very young, so I didn'tfinish school. It's something that
I have to finish once in my,in my life.
Do you think you finish it?
No, I don't know. I don'tknow. Now probably when I retire
from tennis.
Let's see how the tennis goes.Let's see. You don't have to make
that decision yet. But likewhat. How many years futures did
(08:55):
you play before you wereregular in the Challenger Tour?
The last future that I played was.
2023, five, six years of futures.
Yes.
Two years of challengersbefore you get a master row.
Yeah, I played five yearsFutures, but I was mixing a challenger
and Future. The on 2021, 2022and 2023. Yeah. Five years futures.
(09:23):
And in 2021 I started to playsome challengers.
Okay. And slowly the beliefsstart coming up. What's for you is
the difference between aFutures player and a challenger player?
I was talking about, aboutthat with my coach, with Sebastian
Dela. Three days ago we werein Monte Carlo practicing. The course
(09:45):
were perfect. We had, we hadnew balls. Everything looks very,
very good. I was thinking, ohmy God, when we were playing futures,
the courts are not the best.You don't have new balls. It is very
difficult to, to pass thefuture. It's very difficult.
(10:09):
But okay, they're excuses.When you're a Futures player, the
courts aren't good enough.It's too windy. They don't give me
balls. They're excuses. Butwhat allows you as a player or what
allows a player to breakthrough the Futures level? Why did
you break through and why isthere some guy stuck at 9, 8, 700
(10:30):
and just can't get through? Isthe amount of work they've put in.
Is it working with the rightpeople? If there's one thing that
stands out to you that you'veseen, okay, all these guys have broken
true futures. What's thecommon denominator?
Sometimes it's because you arevery talented and you, you pass the
level. Very easy for me wasdifficult because I was 700 in the
(10:53):
world and I was. I don't knowif I will, if I'm ready to, to pass
the level. I think I did, Idid a mental change and I started
to work very, very hard. But Ithink it was more the mental change.
Okay, so you started workingharder though. So you obviously weren't
working hard enough. You sawwhat the top guys were working. You're
(11:17):
like, I need to work harder here.
Harder.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look, it'sreally interesting because I'm sure
there's players out there whowork really hard and still can't
break through.
Yeah, I see a lot of playersthat they are in the top 800, 700.
I see them and I said, oh myGod, they played very good, but I
(11:39):
don't know what happened tothem. Why, why they, they cannot
pass that level.
Do you have more fire thanthem? Is it just the engine? The
fire burns more for you? Itcould be things like that. Did you
ever think of quitting duringthose Years playing Futures?
No, but I remember when it was15, once I thought to quit the sport.
(12:00):
But I. I can leave this sport.I love it. Since I started playing
tennis, for me, always, Iwanted to play Grand Slams, to play
in front of a lot of people.Now I'm here because I think I. I
passed that level when I was 15.
Were your parents involved inyour tennis? What sort of involvement?
(12:22):
Have they taken part in your progression?
Oh, they always give meeverything. It was difficult for
them because it's veryexpensive. It's a very expensive
sport. I didn't have thesupport with money. So, yeah, they
want me to be happy. Theydon't want me to suffer into the
(12:44):
court, but they know that Ilove this sport, and I wanted to
do everything that I could.
What was it like stepping outinto your first Slam at Wimbledon?
Yeah, that was difficult. Iremember when I was. I was stretching,
preparing for a practice. Youcould see in the. On the TVs, they
(13:08):
were. They were doing thedraw, the main draw. So I started
to watch when I saw Rublev.Then it comes when I say, oh, I'm
going to play ruble. So I'mgoing to play in a big court in grass.
(13:31):
It was my second tournament ingrass. The first one was the week
before. That was my first timethat I play on grass. I never play
on grass until that moment. Itwas very challenging. I talked with
Guti, and he said that I haveto be focused on day by day, not
(13:55):
to think in the future, justday by day. Of course, when they
called the match, I felt verycalm. I didn't feel nervous in that
moment. I was enjoying everytime, every practice, even the. The
walk into the court. It wasvery. It was an amazing match. I
(14:18):
remember that.
Yeah, you must be. You. Youbeat Rube Lev, so you must have been.
You handled the situationquite well. You must be like, I am
made for this. I am made. Whatcourt were you on?
Two. Number two.
Okay, good court. That's anice court. And so you. You take
down Rublev. This is like, oh,my God. Then you've Adam Walton in
the next round. Adam's tophundred player. I'm not sure if he's
(14:40):
ranking now, but he would haveplayed a lot on grass, I'm sure.
Come from Australia.
Yeah. But it was a goodopportunity for both of us.
Yeah, probably. Yeah, definitely.
We were the lower ranking inthat draw, both of us.
It's like when you get anotherqualifier in the draw, you're like,
you know, it's an opportunityfor somebody. So you you take down
(15:03):
Walton, you must be feelinggreat at this stage. You're like,
I. Where was grass been all my life?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And now I'mwaiting for grass.
Yeah. And so Musetti, how wasthat then?
Yeah, I remember I, I had oneset point to be choose sets to one
(15:24):
up, but I missed the, thereturn. And then he started to play
better. But I remember wesuspended the match two or three
times because of the rain. Itwas difficult. I started to feel
very tired after the secondtime we stopped playing. I thought
(15:49):
that Musetti was a very funnymatch because he used to slice a
lot, and me too. It was afunny match.
It's a good m. Okay, well,look, it was a great start to grass.
Since then, you've beaten. Isaid uber, Jerry. Like, what was
it like? Be in Zerev and Riothis year.
Wow. I was, I was nervous inthe beginning of that match, but
(16:12):
then I started to feel that I,I can play, that I can serve and
try to, to drop the, to dosome drop shots, to go to the net
because he, he plays like veryin the back of the court. I was lucky,
I have to say, because he wasfor 41 up in the third. When you
(16:33):
are 41 down with Swearer, you,you, you don't have many chances
to win that match. But Iremember he served four three new
balls. And I played an amazinggame. And then I was like, okay,
I can win this.
And you did.
I did.
And what a run to the semifinals. Then. What was the crowd
(16:54):
like? Like South America,obviously. The crowds are really
intense and fiery and it's.I've never been, Sorry, I've been
there, but I've never been ata tournament there. It must be like,
you know, a South American plane.
Well, yeah, of course I wantedto do that result in Argentina because
it's. We all want to play goodin Argentina. It was in Brazil. It
(17:16):
was close to Argentina. Ofcourse, the South American crowd
is, Is one of the best. So Ienjoyed a lot the, the crowd in that
tournament. But I, I rememberthat I played in first round with
Hayde. He's from Brazil, andnobody was cheering for me, so it
was kind of difficult. That much.
Yeah, I'm sure it is. When,when they're fighting again, when
(17:38):
they're cheering again, I canonly imagine. But from, from playing
all, from beating all thesegreat players, what's the one lesson
you've learned?
That I'm ready. That I'm readyto, to play big matches, to be into
the top 30. I don't know, Iwould like to be into the top 30
to top 20. So that helps mewith the. With my confidence.
(18:03):
What's the goal for 20, 25once the season ends? What would
make you happy this year? Ifyou. What's your target? That you
could say, okay, I've hadyear. So if I check in with you in
December and you. You can say,okay, well, this, what Francisco
said. He did it. Good job,Francisco. What's. What would make
you happy A realistic targetfor you?
(18:24):
Okay, first I want to. Toimprove as a person. Then, then tennis.
First, I, I want to prove asa. As a person. Then, of course,
I'm, I'm enjoying every, Everytournament this year. I'm working
very hard. Let's see what's.What's happened. But of course, if
I have to put some goals, itwill be maybe second week of some
(18:53):
Grand Slams. Let's see if Ican finish the year into the top
40.
Second week of a slam and afew good tournaments. You're not
far off there. Yeah, okay, I.I will. I'll check in later in the
year. Maybe in a few weeks.I'll be checking in French Open.
But just a few more questions.Who's the boss? You are. Guto.
(19:18):
No, he's the boss. He's theboss. Of course he's the boss.
Okay, I have to check. I haveto check that. Would you rather win
a slam or be world number one?
Wow. Tough question. SometimesI say be number one. Sometimes I
say win a Grand Slam, but Ihave to pick now. I would say to
(19:44):
be number one.
Okay, so Marcelo Rios.
Yeah. Yeah, it will be Marcelo.
Yeah, that's good. And if youcould change one thing in tennis,
what would it be?
Nothing. I would. I would say nothing.
You're happy with tennis?
Yeah, I'm very happy. I. I cansay we can play with one serve, but
(20:08):
the serve gives me a lot ofpoints, so. Not the serve, probably
the net. If her serve hit the.Hit the. Yeah, the lead.
That's it. It's good in juniortennis. I. I quite like it in junior
tennis. I think it's good. Andit speeds up the game as well. If.
If you weren't a tennisplayer, what would you be doing?
Yeah, probably footballplayer. I used to play football before
(20:30):
Jenny.
Yeah. Argentina has some goodtennis players. Or some football
players.
Football players.
Yeah, some great ones. If youcould steal one shot from any player
to add to your game, whatwould it be? Whose shot would you
steal?
I really like Alcaraz dropshot. And then I. I remember the
(20:53):
Nalbanian's backhand.
You can only have one there.Don't get greedy.
Okay, okay, okay. Albanian'sbackhand and the Bodro's forehand.
No, Come on, come on. That'simpossible. Impossible. No. You know
what, Francisco? I don't thinkwe've ever posted one of your videos
on functional tennis. Do youknow that? No, I. I don't think.
(21:16):
I don't think so, no. Which isquite straight. You know, normally
we get. We try and geteverybody. I can't see any, so that
has to change. So I'm gonna check.
I'm gonna. Okay, okay. I'mgonna. I'm gonna see if I have some
videos in my. In my phone, andI will. Yeah, I will send them.
Yeah, some pr. I'll send you alink. So, yeah, we get some up there.
But thanks a lot. Enjoyedchatting to you and best of luck
(21:39):
in Portugal and the clay courtswing coming up. I will see you in
Roland Garos.
Okay, See you in Roland Garosand then Wimbledon.
Yes. Yeah, of course. Ofcourse. You've points to defend now.
Come on. Yeah.
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